Maggie's Journal

Tags: Around The Lake Life on Marble Mountain
What fun! The Beavers clan put it on and it was great fun. They served a loverly meal of spaghetti, red gravy, breaded chicken breasts, eggplant and Romaine salad.

Numbers were given out at the beginning. In between scenes numbers were drawn and gifts were distributed.

Sleuths were given vague clues and 4 opportunies to pick the culprit. We picked wrong all four times. The winning table was the McCann's and (Dave & Fiona) MacDonald's.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:48 AM Location Marble Mountain Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Today we had a lovely mass with Father Hughie MacDonald. He has a wonderful, cheery disposition that just lights up the church. This was his last mas in MM this summer but I'm sure he plans to return to the village church next summer.

Thank you to the people who dressed up our lovely church with fresh flowers.

Next mass: August 29, 1:00, with Fr. Clare-Johnson

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:36 PM Location MM Village | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
That was the best Marble Mountain Family Fun Day ever! Thank you, everyone who came and participated, for making it so good. Especially, thanks go to the guest performers. It wouldn't have been so good without you. Special thanks to all the helpers who jumped into the water to help make the Duck Race a success. THANK YOU, ALL!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:34 PM Location Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Food & Entertainment Food & Fun Fun And Entertainment Life In Cape Breton Life on Marble Mountain Local News Local Talent Marble Mountain Music And Entertainment News In Malagawatch News In Marble Mountain News in Nova Scotia Quality Of Life In Canada
Marble Mountain Family Fun Day noon - 6 today at the wharf and beach.

There will be games with prizes for the kids. Magician! Juggler! Face painting! Live music and singing by fabulous local talent on the stage! Dancing, merriment! Food and soft drinks on the wharf! Poker Run! Duck Race!

It will be fun for all - come join us!

* Kindly refain from smoking at this event to set a good example for kids and be considerate of those who are affected by tobacco smoke. Tapadh leat!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:54 AM Location Marble Mountain Beach and Wharf | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Health Life on Marble Mountain News In Marble Mountain Quality Of Life In Canada
When we participated in the Atlantic Path study in April, we had to provide a sample of our well water. The testing covered a number of elements that are considered harmful in drinking water. All of the readings came out very low, some of them by the tens of thousands below acceptable level. Yay! That is wonderfully reassuring. Come have a drink of cold, refreshing Marble Mountain Elixir at my house. Drinks are on the house! Not literally, you can sit on the patio if you like while you partake.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 3:23 PM Location North Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain News In Marble Mountain Church Culture & Traditions
There's going to be a wedding in St. Matthew's United Church this coming Friday, August 6, at 2:30. Sixty guests are officially expected. Let's all go wait outside and cheer the newlyweds as they leave the church! No birdseed, please, they will be cheered with bubbles. The reception will be held at the Dundee Resort.

The happy couple is related to the Youdens. Stop by and say hi while they are here.

(Hi Drew, welcome to Marble Mountain!)

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:23 PM Location St. Matthews United Church | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain Local News Marble Mountain News News In Marble Mountain News in Nova Scotia Quality Of Life In Canada
Come to mass with us, we'd love to have you! 1:00

Mass is held only in the summer because there is no electricity and no heat in the church. The bench seats are hard so bring a pillow.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:50 PM Location Historic St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Marble Mountain, NS | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Exciting News Fun And Entertainment Life In Cape Breton Life on Marble Mountain Local News Local Talent Music And Entertainment
The tickets are selling out quickly. Already some of the concerts are sold out and tickets have only been on sale for 2 days. If you want to attend any concerts, I higly recommend you hurry and get them NOW, right this very minute.

Our favorites are the local concerts. We always attend Whycocomagh, Lower River, Orangedale, Judique and Glendale.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:48 PM Location Cape Breton Island | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Church History Holiday Life on Marble Mountain Local News
Only in the summer! Mass will be held in historic St. Joseph’s Catholic Church 1:00 today. Come join us.

You don't need to be cathlic and you don't need to be religious, just repectful once you're in there. Why would you attend? Because this is the old church, mass is only held in there in summer becuase there is no electricity in there so no lights and not heat for the winter months. It's a lovely, old church and it is on the historical register. Mass is mercifully short, which is good because those plank seats get very hard very quickly. If it makes your bum hurt, offer it up or bring a cushion.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:19 AM Location St' Joseph's Catholic Church, Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Approximately 60 people helped Dave celebrate another year of life in beautiful Marble Mountain paradise. If anybody arrived hungry or thirsty, they didn't leave that way. There was plenty of everything, even vegetarian, though nothing for vegans as most every dish had cheese of some sort. There was commercial wine, home made wine, beer, coolers and Marble Mountain elixir, the best drink in the world, cold & refreshing straight out of the mountain.

At some time around 10 or 11 the dancing started, kicked of by the insistence of Jean and Irene, who happily pulled in nearly everyone else. As we all danced, those who knew the words sang loudly, those who didn't know the words mumbled loudly. For some reason, this worked. This went on, along with profuse storytelling, until we left shortly before 1:00 a.m. What does it mean when you wake up the next morning singing the song you danced to the night before?

Today is Dave Dauphinee's birthday, July 7 is Dave MacDonald's birthday. Just wanted to clear that up.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:16 AM Location Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain Nature
At approximately this time every year, we find a stunning Luna Moth attched to some part of our homestead, usually the wall of the shed. The watch is on. Keep tuned for developments.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:19 PM Location Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (2)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
It's true, Dave is having another birthday, Fiona said so. Drop by or call or send him a card congratulating him on another wonderful year in Marble Mountain. Yay Dave!!!!!! This is also his first birthday as a grandfather.

I have the birthday date as July 7 so the birthday party is early, which is fine with me. We need a good party in MM!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 3:50 PM Location Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Being Neighborly Entertainment News In Marble Mountain Food & Fun Food And Entertainment Fun Life In Cape Breton Life on Marble Mountain Local News Music And Entertainment
What a fabulous time we all had at the St. George's Channel Hall with entertainment provided by Rob Woodley, Pat Lamey, Heather Richards, Tim Laborie and Adam Cook and friends.

The music started at 7:30, with a full house and then some, and played until 10:00 with only a break for sandwiches, sweets and tea at 8:30. It was a blast and I am sure that everyone had a great time.

What a great bunch of people they are at St. George's Channel! They managed to raise approximately $1,137.00 for our new hall fund. Thank you all for your wonderful and much appreciated support. You rock! We couldn't ask for better neighbors.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:01 AM Location St. George's Channel Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
As we lay in bed at night, we get lulled to sleep with a cacophony of spring peepers for our lullaby. They sing all night long, except when something moving nearby frightens them into sudden silence. I wonder what is wandering in my yard at night during the silent spells. Yesterday morning I found scat that looks like it may be from a fox on my walking path. A motion sensor camera could produce some surprising and interesting photos.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:50 AM Location Backyard | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain Music And Entertainment
A concert in support of the Marble Mountain Community Association's new hall project will be presented by Rob Woodley with Tim LaBorie, Pat Lamey and Heather Richards, Adam Cooke, Doug MacKinnon and friends.

This concert will be held in St. George's Channel Hall. It will be presented on June 12 fron 7:30 - 11:30. Do come, it will be a blast!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:05 AM Location St. George's Channel Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I was told that the take was between $900 and $1,000 and that the money will go toward repainting the hall. A fresher color will cover up the old yellow that presently covers the interior of the hall. Don't ask me what the new color will be, I don't know and I probably won't - I stay out of that hall. Someone else will be happy to tell you, I'm sure.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:27 AM Location Marble Mountain Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Ok, so not ALL the news, I'm sure there's plenty I don't know of. The weather is really big news. Today, the sun is shining, winds are gentle and the temps are quite comfortable. In all, a lovely afternoon.

I knew the weather would be like this, it came up from the New England coast, where we have been for the last few days. We got to spend time on the beach, visit with family and old friends and have lunch at a clam shack overlooking the piers where the fishing boats come in with the day's catch.

I have no news regarding the success and take of the sale in the MM hall last weekend. When I find out what the profit was, I'll let you know. When I find out what the $ benefits, I will tell you that, too.

Did everyone have an enjoyable long holiday weekend last weekend?

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:10 PM Location Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Being Neighborly Entertainment News In Marble Mountain Life on Marble Mountain Local News
Come to the sale! Crafts, plants, bake sale, salad boxes, jewelry, silk items, knit items, flea market. Marble Mountain Hall 10-2 May 22. I heard a rumor that there was some discussion about making food available for a light lunch but that is not definite.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:13 AM Location Marble Mountain Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain Local Business Local News Local Talent News In Marble Mountain
Location: Marble Mountain

Date: 05/22/2010

10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Bake sale, house plants, garden plants, vegetable plants, fine jewelry and semi-precious stones, beautiful art knitting, salad trays with a variety of lettuce and herbs, silk clothing, flea market items, crafts, etc.

Tables available to rent.

Directions: Marble Mountain Community Hall

Contact Name: Alice

Phone Number: 756-2013

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:28 PM Location Marble Mountain Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Being Neighborly Entertainment News In Marble Mountain Life on Marble Mountain Local News
Bake sale, crafts. Rent a table $10. Kathleen Olsen 756-2022. Margeurite Olsen 756-2798.

Saturday, May 1, 11:00 - 1:00

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:27 AM Location Orangedale | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain Local News
Let's do the annual roadside cleanup the first weekend in May, before the foliage fills out and makes it difficult to retrieve trash from the ditches. We will do the stretch from our house eastward to Pat & Johnny's.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:07 PM Location Marble Mountain Roadside | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain Local News
The North Mountain communities will be holding a community craft & bake sale and flea market on Saturday, May 22nd, from 10am to 2pm at the Marble Mountain Community Hall.

Donations of baked goods for sale on behalf of the North Mountain Cultural and Recreation Association would be appreciated.

To participate, or for more information, contact Alice at 756-2013 or Lynn at 756-2872.

Tables or spots for the craft and flea market can be reserved for a $5 donation.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:46 AM Location Marble Mountain Community Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We just got back from a walk up the mountain to the garden. Snow has been falling all day yet there is little accumulation. How does this happen? I wore my tall rubber boots but I would have been fine with short shoes.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 2:01 PM Location Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Food and Wine and Entertainment Life on Marble Mountain Local Business
Home Party of the Scentsy product line, specifically the 'Scentsy Warmer', a unique wickless candle concept that gently melts fragrance wax bars. This is not just for the ladies, as there is something for everyone!

There are several scent categories including:

- Favourites (e.g. Home Sweet Home)

- Fall & Winter (e.g. Snowberry)

- Bakery (e.g. Baked Apple Pie)

- Scentsy Man (e.g. African Mahogany)

- Romance (e.g. Satin Sheets)

- Spa (e.g. Olive Wood & Cypress)

- Scentsy Café (e.g. Mochadoodle)

- Tropical (e.g. Coconut Palm)

There will be 80 different scent samples introduced for you to see which ones appeal to you, or for those you think will appeal to others. Several warmer models will be on display as well, including a plug-in model which can also serve as a night light, and several full-size warmers including a Design It Yourself (DIY).

THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO ATTEND MY HOME PARTY:

1. By coming to my home on February 20th at 1 p.m.

2. If you cannot make it, in person, but would like participate in my home party, by purchasing any of the Scentsy products online, please do so, at any time up to February 20th at 3 p.m. through the following website: www.macbenn.scentsy.ca and click the Buy from Party listed by my name under Open Parties.

Both these options are considered 'ATTENDING' so please click Attending if you plan to do either.

Thank you.

Maggie

P.s. You can order Scentsy online through my party in both Canada and the U.S. and have it sent directly to your home. https://macbenn.scentsy.ca/Buy?partyId=1885675 Or go to www.macbenn.scentsy.ca and click the ‘Buy from Party‘ listed by my name under ‘Open Parties’.

Orders can be placed at any time up to February 20th at 3 p.m.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:14 AM Location My House | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Coyotes seem to be a growing problem. A woman in Margaree has recently seen coyotes sitting on her doorstep. Their presence has been enough of a problem for her that she has to look outside to make sure they are not out there before she can actually go outside. After hearing the howls of coyotes Sunday morning on the road where we dog walk, I think I'll cease & desist solo dogwalking. Any time you want to go out for a walk, call me!

In other news ... Christine Campbell is home from the hospital, Cheryl brought her home. Cheryl & Donald are enjoying their new dog, she's an absolute sweetheart, and I hope they start joining us from time to time on our daily 3:00 dog walks. Donald is doing really well in school so keep him in mind when you need someone to work on a photography project. He does some video work as well.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:26 PM Location Cape Breton | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Yesterday's 3rd Annual Marble Mountain Polar Bear Dip was a big event with approximately 21 dippers of all ages, even children, and at least double that in attendance adding support. (Dave, we missed you!) The air was still and not so cold, that's about as agreeable as weather can be at this time of year. There were dippers from Marble Mountain, West Bay, Lime Hill and Dundee, I think. All of us are pleased for the wonderful turnout and support. Next year, the dip will be followed by a chili cook-off in the hall. I'll donate cornbread. I'm absolutely tickled that it turned out so well! How did this get started anyway? I remember the New Year's Eve bash in the hall when, fueled with good wine, a few folks decided to do the dip the next afternoon. Who kicked it off? I remember Dave was there and Iris and Linda and Jean...

Today the wind has picked up and has increased in speed, with huge gusts, becoming more vigorous as the day progresses. We did our dog walk this morning right after breakfast to make sure we got it in before the winds got too wild. This afternoon, the usual walking crowd did their daily constitutional, they aren't ones to be cowed by fierce winds. The pooches all had a great time, as did the humans. Labs Misha and Riley cavorted with Border Collies Flyn & Lily, chasing sticks and each other. If ever there was pooch therapy, this is it. I had a great walk with Fiona, Pat, Dave and Jim. The wind wasn't too bad then, plus that road is somewhat protected. The temperature remains above freezing, which is very helpful in such winds and adds to walking comfort.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:26 PM Location Marble Mountain Beach | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Meet at the wharf. You should be able to drive down it and back up without trouble. If you are worried about it, we'll be happy to take you with us in the Subaru.

Warming refreshments will be served - hot tea.

Be there or be square!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:40 AM Location Marble Mountain Beach | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This 6 - 8 " of snow was not in the forecast. We were expecting flurries and a dusting. Everyone is out shoveling, snowblowing and plowing. Don't expect it to linger, a warmup is in the forecast for Saturday.

We probably will have to do the Polar Bear Dip on New Year's Day at 1:00 on the beach at Lime Hill.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:11 PM Location Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The 3rd Annual Marble Mountain New Year's Polar Bear Dip will be held at 1:00 Friday afternoon. Jump in! If you can't bring yourself to join in, come along for the fun. Warming refreshments will be served on the beach.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:39 PM Location Marble Mountain Beach | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Last night we heard a dog barking nearby. Or so we thought. As we tried to figure out what dog was barking, it turned into choppy barks, then overlapping yips and, after a few minutes, evolved into the howls of coyotes. From the sound, they were at the top of our driveway on the road. We listened to them for a good 5 minutes or so. Then they took off quickly going east. Whew!

There is something about the coyote calls that intrigues. We listened to them through the open window until we could no longer hear them.

I do not worry all that much about them coming into my yard. We have two healthy, strong canines that leave plenty of scent messages for other canines. Canines of all stripes have a strong respect for territory and I suspect that keeps the critters out of my yard. I hope I'm right about that.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:53 AM Location Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We just got back from a dog walk on the beach and it was wonderful. The sun is shining, there's a gentle beeze blowing a light ripple on the water's surface and the temperature is above freezing. You won't get better weather on Christmas Day than this. The dogs had a good run and swim.

Big Christmas hugs, everyone!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:29 PM Location MM Beach | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
So much for all that snow that plagued southern and western areas, we have only rain and the temperature is 37F/3C. Dave, Jim Rachel and I had soggy walk with the dogs but it was pleasant nonetheless. Hopefully this rain will presist until all the slush is washed away. As long as we don't end up with loads of ice underfoot, we'll be happy. This might not be a white Christmas.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 3:19 PM Location Cove road | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The sky surely does look like a goodly snow is coming and we all expect to see the first flakes soon. We just did our daily dog & human walk and we saw nary a flake. We had a very pleasant walk, with the guys trailing behind. Jean, Rachel and I led the way, with Kit and Jim keeping Tom company. Tom's using a walking stick and getting along pretty well. The dogs had a blast, running and barking and playing with each other. They all get along very nicely.

If you want to join us on our daily dog walks, let us know. We usually go out in mid-afternoon. When the road behind Black's Cove gets too difficult to traverse, we'll walk on Militia Point Road or up at the old Calder farm or at a place in Lime Hill. Just so you know, we do have permission to hike on these properties. It's actually a good thing to have us hikers there, I'm pretty sure we deter thieves from breaking in.

On our walk today we noticed tire tracks down all the driveways, as if someone is looking for unoccupied properties. Uh-oh, here we go again. We'll have to step up patrols and make a point of having a camera and notebook with pen handy, just in case we come across anyone who doesn't look familiar.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 3:07 PM Location Road To Buecken's Bridge | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
What time was last year's Polar Bear Dip? Was it at 1:00? We'll figure this out. If we can drive down to the wharf or beach, it will be there. Otherwise, we'll have to find an accessible location.

Who will participate?

Okay. Time for my nap. I'm home alone and the house is quiet. If I can kick this bronchitis ... things will look up for the New Year 2010. People keep asking me if I'm going to do the Polar Bear Dip and when I say no they ask me why. Are they crazy???? Me, jump into icy water? Please plant marguerites over me when I'm 6 feet under.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 3:59 PM Location Beach | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
A light, fluffy snow fell overnight.  This will be a good day to take pix of the cove at 3:00 in the late afternoon light. I hope I get some good ones to share with you. That's assuming I'll be able to walk on that road, depending on the snowfall.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:17 AM Location Behind The Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I doubt the frosting will last long but it's pretty for now. Soon enough each new snowflake will bring groans. I wonder what this full moon has to do with the first snowfall arriving last night.

Doesn't it make you feel like Christmas is coming?

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:38 AM Location Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Food & Fun Life on Marble Mountain
The Orangedale Church Annual Tea And Sale will be held tomorrow from 2 to 4. There is an admission fee that gets you tea, sandwiches and sweets as well as entry to one of the nicest events around the area. You'll get to see nearly everyone there. I think it's going to be held in the church but you'd be wise to follow the crowds, just in case I have it wrong.

As always, the bakery table is the favorite part of the shopping. The women who bake, mix, stir and bottle for this event are all tremendously good cooks and I believe they donate their finest offerings for the Tea and Sale. You can't go wrong with anything from that table.

The crafts selection always reliably includes knitted and sewn goods. There is always an element of surprise because, as we all know, each year is different and you never know what the crafters will be inspired to make. There are standing angels (I hope you find them entertaining) and wreaths of pine cones and the always-popular seasonal greens arrangements. Heaven only knows what you'll find there.

Let us know what you like, what you'd like to see there, what you'd like to change each year and what you'd like to see every year. We want you to be happy with the selection so you come, buy and go away happy each year. It's a win-win.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:37 AM Location Orangedale Church | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Just got back from a good walk with Dave, Jim and the 4 pooches - Flyn, Lily, Misha and Riley. Rachel would have come with us but she was in the middle of baking. We were out for over an hour, close to 1 1/2 hours, and the dogs had a good swim, they chased each other, swam, retrieved sticks and had a good outrun.

We got slightly rained on, with a little snow & sleet mixed in, the air was relatively still and the weather was pleasant overall. I wore my dayglo orange vest and red hat so we got neither shot at nor torn apart by coyotes. We live on to hike another day.

Next dog hike: Friday afternoon, after I return from crafts in Orangedale, probably at 3:00 or so. You are welcome to join us, just let Jim, Dave or I know. You could simply show up at the road behind the cove and join in, with or without a dog.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:37 PM Location Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The dock is being hauled out, next the boat will be hauled out. This is the end of boating season for '09. Jeez, I feel like we hardly got any boating in at all this year. What happened to summer? Or spring & fall, for that matter?

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:30 AM Location Black Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Entertainment Life on Marble Mountain
Take a look at the cove this morning, it's gorgeous.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:09 AM Location Black Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Due to the weather, crafts at Betty's will be rescheduled for next Wednesday. I'll still do my part and crank out the fudge today.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:11 AM Location MM, Orangedale | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Last night's moon over the lake was exquisitely beautiful. The sky was clear and the air was still. It would have been nice to take a boat out on the lake to take in the moon and stars. Just dress warmly and wrap up in a warm blanket. Perfection!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:04 AM Location Lake | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I will be going to Iris and Glen's this evening to participate in their Haunted House. I did it last year and it was a blast. Come join us after dusk. They will have a bonfire and refreshments - last year Iris made fourag, Glen created huge torches and Iris did fortune telling via tea leaves (don't swallow the leaves or you'll have no fortune).

Hope to see you there. This is going to be the warmest Halloween I've seen in quite a few years and I think I've only seen one or two this warm in my lifetime. Tonight will definitely be a perfect night for visiting around the bonefire. We may or may not see moon and stars but we aren't expecting rain. The high at 9:00 p.m. is forecast to be 56F/13C.

The moon will be full Monday so we should have plenty of moonlight to see by. I wonder if there will be a magnificent moonrise? This would be the time to watch it over the lake, especially with your sweetie - gorgeous!

"The Circle is open but always unbroken. May the peace of the Goddess go in your heart. Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again." Samhain farewell, goodbye, Author unknown.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:39 AM Location Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Kayaking on the lake yesterday was ethereal. The air was still so the surface was like glass and the temperature was comfortable.

In answer to a question that was asked of me yesterday, No, I did not see any deer kayaking. If I do, I hope I have a camera with me. I didn't know deer did that. How would a deer get its hoofs into a kayak?

I'd luv-luv-luv to get out there again today. That's not likely to happen, got a number of showings to do that will require driving all over creation. You are welcome to use my kayak, if you like.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:08 AM Location The Lake | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
If the weather is agreeable, I think I'll go for a glide on the lake this weekend. I have a spare kayak so you can go with me if you like. Just give a call.

Sunday would be good if the wind takes a break. It might be rainy so bring a rainjacket and nor'easter hat.

Here's what Accuweather says for Sunday afternoon: Cloudy and breezy with occasional rain and drizzle, mainly early. High of 8.

Could be promising.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:05 AM Location Cove | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Food & Wine And Entertainment Life on Marble Mountain
Ladies Night In will be held at my house Saturday, October 24, at 6:00 p.m. I'll make a punch and some snacks. Ladies, don your tiaras!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:29 PM Location Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Into town for a meeting and lunch, then home to catch up on work. Much to do. This is why God created coffee. Drop in if you need a cup of brew.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:11 AM Location Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The temperature is down to freezing outside.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:38 PM Location Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Holy cow! Where did this wind come from? Are we getting a secret hurricane? If this strong and gusty wind persists throughout tomorrow, we will have trouble keeping the candles lit for tomorrow night's 3rd Annual Marble Mountain Wine Tasting.

For those of you who will be attending tomorrow's wine shindig, remember to dress appropriately for the weather as we will be outside on the patio as well as in the house and screen room. The patio umbrella will be closed and secured. I am very much looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow evening.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:19 AM Location CBI | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Lily and I just got back from our dawn walk around the cove. First, we hiked to the bridge, then I threw sticks for her to fetch from the water at Karsten's shoreline.

The sky is mostly clear and the streaks of clouds were edged with peach sunshine. If you have the time, I highly recommend a walk along the water this morning.

On the return, we came across Flynn & Kit just as they were passing the road. They were heading toward Malagawatch. It's a good thing I caught them when I did, they would have had a walk all by themselves. It looks like Kit has finally decided that occasional exercise is in his best interest. Better late than never, I say.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:38 AM Location The Road Behind The Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Tomorrow's selection: turnips, parsnips, green beans, squash and maybe eggs, depending on what the hens produce.

No Farm Market on Sunday, I'll be in Whycocomagh for Anne's book launch.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:43 AM Location The Dump | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Farm Market today at the lookoff 2-4, if it's not too breezy. 

Selection includes turnips, green beans, squash, handcrafted goods, cookbooks, herbs & flowers, depending on what's in the garden today.  If the hens are productive, there will be eggs, fresh and maybe still warm from the hens. Fall temperatures have moved in so bring a warm - or warming - drink.

See you there!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:35 AM Location Lookoff | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This morning is too nice to miss by staying in the house. I am going out for my walk shortly.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:22 AM Location Cape Breton | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Sunday's selection: yellow summer squash, zucchini, herbs, purple-top turnips, flowers, etc.

Tomorrow I will be at Russell's party 4-7. Perhaps I'll see you there. I am tasked with bringing a salad and I have decided to make a grilled vegetable salad for the event.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:11 PM Location Lookoff | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Details will be coming at a later date.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:33 AM Location The Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We have once again reached that time of year when the seasonal folks must do like the hummies and fly away. Seasonal residents are so much a part of our community that it is easy to forget that they will leave us during fall's migration.

Heinz will be flying out on Wednesday. I think it is safe to say that all of us will miss his pleasant company. Not to worry, he said he will be back next summer, only 10 months away, with Gerlinde. It will be very nice to see her again, too.

Last night we had a lovely visit with Heinz in the screen room. We sat, talked, ate, drank wine and cinnamon ouzo, told stories and had a lovely time. The weather was perfect.

As Roy Rogers used to sing from astride his horse, Happy trails to you, until we meet again, Happy trails to you, keep smiling until then ... Safe trip, Heinz!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:13 AM Location BHI | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
No one comes to the lookoff when the weather's not good so there's no point in having a Farm Market today.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:32 PM Location Lookoff | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I'll be in the office tomorrow 9 - noon, then to the garden to harvest what's up there and sell what's ready. Offerings will include beautifully handcrafted knitted and sewn items, turnips, squash, herbs and maybe flowers, depending on what's up there. Then off to see Berle and Art.

Tomorrow is looking rather full, I might go harvest later today instead. If only we had rain, there would be more coming from the garden.

See you at the lookoff!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:55 AM Location Lookoff | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
It has been one of the loveliest Labor Day Weekends ever. The weather has been glorious and the only rain we've gotten so far was early this morning. You can't ask for better than that.

Over the last 2 days I spent half the afternoons at the lookoff. If you want to meet people, that's the place. I have seen early everyone I know there! Some of them twice!!

The moon that was full last night is still quite bright. Who has the equipment to set up horshoes? Wouldn't it be great to go to the lookoff and play horseshoes after supper, while the moon is still bright and the weather is pleasant? Got beer?

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:36 AM Location The Village | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This week's offerings: fresh eggs, herbs, flowers, turnip, squash and whatever else I can find up at the garden. Also, hand-made knitted and sewn items.

If you have anything to sell, come join me there. Competition is encouraged. It's a nice place for a visit and you never now who will show up besides me. I hope you can make it.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:29 AM Location The Dump | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Jeff called a meeting to see if any new ideas could be brought out for the new hall. He called it his Dream And Vision Session. I wasn't there so this info is second hand.

Attendance was good and there were some new faces that hadn't shown up at previous similar meetings, which is encouraging. I don't know what new ideas came up but it was mentioned by Russell that the hall shouldn't be designed to be used by outsiders, that we should design it only to use it as we've been using the old hall. How that affects the design as we've done it so far isn't clear. What would be removed or changed with that concept in mind? Isn't part of the goal of having a new hall so that we can use it in ways we can't use the old hall? I'm afraid I find this confusing. So if we aren't going to do anything we aren't already doing, then why build a new hall, other than that those of us who get sick from exposure to the old hall would be able to attend games night year round? So that means a new hall would be built only to accommodate those of us with sensitive lungs? We are honored and pleased!

Jeff said he will have an architect draw up a design. Whether he will show the architect the existing design wasn't mentioned to me. I think it would be helpful for the architect to see our drawing for the new hall if only because it sheds light on our needs and uses for the new hall.

Please let me know of any additional details pertaining to last night's meeting and I will post the info here.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:21 AM Location MM Hall | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Another item needed for our weekly crafting session in Orangedale is cd covers. Most of use have some laying around that we never did get around to tossing in the recycle bin. Instead of throwing them out, please recycle them for the Orangedale UCW Tea And Sale. If you have any to donate, please let us know. We'll be happy to come pick them up. Thank you!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:31 PM Location Orangedale | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
As in past years, a group of us will be getting together weekly in Orangedale throughout fall to craft items for the Orangedale UCW Tea and Sale that's always held in late November. One of the crafts requires an abundance of pine cones, any kind will do. If you have any to donate, please let us know. We'll be happy to come pick them up. Thank you!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:26 PM Location Orangedale | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
From Man-on-the-Mountain: Golden eagle sighted several times in the last week in the MM area.

From Hughie: Fishermen who stay at the old place saw moose tracks up on the mountain yesterday…it is a cow and calf … I suppose it is the same family Martin & Gabi saw near Kenneth’s  a few months ago.

From The Kernel: Flyn willingly got back in the car this afternoon after his visit to the garden. I parked at the bottom, walked up to the garden, then back down. Instead of jumping back into the car, Flyn & Lily took off across the road and down to the water for a swim. After their dip he was much more enthusiastic about jumping into he car. I guess he was on strike until he got his swim. Did I ever mention that Border Collies can be opinionated?

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:41 PM Location North Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Selection includes: LOTS of cucumbers, purple top turnips, lettuce mix, flowers, herbs, handmade knitted & sewn goods and plenty of good company. Come join me and anyone else who shows up.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:30 AM Location The Lookoff | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Linda told me yesterday that Dave Campbell arrived home safe & sound a few days ago. Ok, we can exhale now. That's a very long drive to make alone. Yes, Dave, you have many "mothers" here in Cape Breton.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:50 AM Location Post Office | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
It feels like fall. I guess I'l have to put on a hat & warm jacket again for my morning walk.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:42 AM Location Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
A flyer arrived in our mailbox inviting all to a meeting in the hall. It's billed as a "Dream & Vision Session" and we are "invited, encouraged and welcome to consider our fondest memories at the hall, our hope for the future role of the hall in our community and how we might be willing to serve and contribute to said hall". I am not so sure I feel like doing this yet again but you are welcome to join in and participate. Perhaps Jeff Chant, organizer of this meeting, will succeed better at eliciting community participation, funds and more rapid progress than the rest of us. More power to him. I'm a little burned out on it.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:57 PM Location The Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Hurricane Bill has come and gone without incident, though Kit did manage to get blown off the dock and into the cove at the height of it. That gives him a good tale to tell, even if he does complain that it was a near-death experience. I missed it, drat!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:35 AM Location Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The rain is starting, albeit only gentle sprinkles. Right now the lake is glass and it looks very inviting. I took the dogs for a swim this morning at the beach and I was very tempted to jump in with them, the water is warm. For certain the lake won't remain placid for long, it will get very exciting here before the day is out.

If you lose power and don't have water, come by to fill some jugs. Our water is gravity-fed and we are happy to share. Our water supply is ample (though slow).

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:01 AM Location Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
It was a fabulous party with way more than enough good food and wonderfully talented musicians. I didn't know Murdo was a talented guitarist and singer. (Murdo, my birthday is in April (hint-hint). Russ's daughter made mountains of cupcakes, all good. She and her husband worked very hard to make this a good party and our big thanks go out out to them for all their effort. It was also very nice to see everyone and catch up. I hope we get to see some good pics. We forgot to bring our camera.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:51 AM Location Mountain Road | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Summer is here with a vengeance. At 11:00 a.m. the temperature has already reached 88F / 31C and it's still rising. This is a bona fide bikini day. We'll be in the lake before long.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:11 AM Location Everywhere | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
What is it about the lookoff that attracts smokers? It seems there is nothing people want to do there more than smoke. Then toss their butts on the gournd there. Yuck. Dirty, dirty, dirty.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 1:29 PM Location Lookoff | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain

Posted by Maggie Davis At 2:10 PM Location The Dump | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain Local Talent
One of our weekend guests is a musician. Drop by for a visit if you want to jam or enjoy some home made music. They will be here this evbening until Tuesday.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:10 AM Location Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
First off - Is there any leftover sweet corn? If so, I'd like to have some if I may.

The Big Weekend started off on Friday evening with the Darts Tournament and games such as Queen and jigsaw puzzles. As always, there were excellent snacks and good craic and everyone appeared to be having fun. The last of the participants arrived home at midnight after setting up the tables for the following day's potluck.

Saturday's potluck supper was a big hit with many excellent dishes - ladies, you outdid yourselves yet again! - and the head count is that at least 135 people participated. Apparently my great big bowl of sugar snap peas & mint was a real crowd pleaser. I was told that the first few folks who dug into them nearly filled their plates with them. I'll have to rethink quantities to double or triple for next year so that everyone will get a chance to have some. Note to self: Plant 2 more rows for the potluck dinner.

Sunday started at 8:00 a.m. with all of us at the beach setting up for fun day. Before we left for the beach, I started a pot of beans in the crockpot so we'd have baked beans for the party. By 10 or so all of us were done and back home to get ready for the afternoon. The house was a mess and I didn't get the time to put laundry away until 11:00 p.m. Oh well. I did manage to harvest some salad greens and turnips for a customer who swapped some of his lovely parsley plants for some of my coreopsis. He and his wife also bought tee shirts. It was a good deal all around.

The poker run took off at 1:00 with a blast of boat motors. The afternoon activity was steady, particularly so at the wharf, where it was truly hot & sunny. You'd think they were selling beer! The attraction there was hot dogs, sausages, hamburgers and sweet corn. There were plenty of sodas but all too sweet. Next year I hope they'll offer ginger ale in the mix and some vegetarian options. It was a good place to "see and be seen" on the wharf where all the beautiful people of Marble Mountain and the neighboring communities gathered to enjoy the perfect summer day and each other's company.

The kid's games were steady but slow during the poker run, when many of the children are on the boats with their parents. You can tell when the poker run is over, the kids games get busy. The children are getting older and some of the activities didn't attract them. We'll need to revise the selection for next year. Still, a serious dent was put in the bounty of prizes.

Dinky Cameron provided music for our event yet again. He is reliable and does a great job of adding to the fun. His music brought out the dancer in John & Deeny Morykot's granddaughter. She danced her little heart out and thrilled us all with her take on Riverdance. She was so enthralled with Dinky's music that her mom had trouble luring her away with the promise of ice cream. Her performance was enchanting.

The weather was totally and completely perfect for the event. The wind was steady until the duck race at 4:00, then we had to use boat motors and hand splashes to urge the winning number to shore. I was very happy that the day was hot. I always end up in the water for that event. Last year I got my clothes wet trying to set up the floating duck race so this year I got smart and started out the day in my swimsuit. That helped, especially as that made it easier to stay cool.

I'd like to make special mention that all the children were well-behaved and a pleasure to have with us.

Kit will be reordering tee shirts. We totally ran out of smalls and mediums. I don't know if people got them for children or if we underestimated the number of adults who actually wear a size small or medium. I know of several women who wanted smalls and there were none left for them. It might be a good idea to include children's sizes in the reorder as well.

It was a blast and it's a good thing we only do this once a year. Thank you Mother Nature for providing us with a topnotch location and the best of weather.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:08 AM Location The Beach | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The garden has finally produced enough goodies to open the Farmer's Market. I'll probably arrive home at 1:00 or so. It will take me probably an hour to get everything to the lookoff so you can expect to see me there at approximately 2:00. I'll stay until 4:00 or until all the produce is gone. As always, this is a "weather permitting" endeavor.

Today's selection: several kinds of lettuce, herbs, turnips and flowers.

Next week, I hope to have beans and/or peas to offer and a different selection of flowers.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:25 AM Location lookoff | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This evening a meeting is being called in the Marble Mountain Hall by Betty Muise to brainstorm ways to raise revenue for the much needed new hall. Some 5 or 6 people have agreed to participate so far so please show up and offer what you can to help pull this off. I'm sure your contribution will be much appreciated. Thank you.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 2:41 PM Location Marble Mountain Village | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
MARBLE MOUNTAIN FAMILY WEEKEND AUGUST 7 – 9

Friday August 7: Games night at the Community Hall – 7pm Donations received at the door

Saturday, August 8: Potluck Dinner – 5pm $9 adults, $5 children under 12 Don't be late!

Sunday August 9: Family Day at the Wharf and Beach - Noon – 5pm

Annual Marine Poker Run organized by James Eager and Friends (Registration at noon, run begins at 12:30 pm)

Entertainment by Dinky Cameron

Games with prizes awarded: Treasure Hunt, Basketball Toss, Milk Bottle Toss, Balloon Darts, Face Painting and more

BBQ, Corn-Boil, Ice Cream and Soft Drinks

Swimming at the Beach

Parking Fees Apply (Free entry for vehicles with children under the age of 12)

Presented by the Marble Mountain Wharf Preservation Society, An ECBC-Sponsored Event

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:31 AM Location Marble Mountain Village | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Here are some comments written in by Robin and I think she has some valid points to share:

Maggie and all, I am not sure of a way to get this out to everyone, so I hope this is a good forum.

Yesterday was the auction at West Bay, where all the money raised goes to the West Bay Pastoral Charge. Folks brought in all kinds of things that were no longer needed, and many crafters, brought in quilts, wool blankets, socks, art work, etc to be auctioned off. It wasn't at all like the auction in Glendale (where the auctioneer was the money maker), so it was really nice. They had hot dogs for $1.00 and sodas and water for $1.00.

I met a nice man that I am sure you all know by the name of David Gunn, who taught me quite a bit about antiques and I was lucky enough to win a sterling silver gravy boat that belonged to his mother. I wasn't lucky enough to get one of his kerosine lamps, perhaps next year. The reason for my post, is that David said that they do these twice a year and its quite a fundraiser for the church, making upwards of $5,000.00 each time.

Could it be that we have one of these for the Marble Mountain Community Center and host it at the West Bay Community Center? They do rent the space out and it gives an opportunity for us to speak about our cause and learn some of the locals and the local talent in the area.

I managed to win a sculpture made out of elk and a man carved out of whale bone, for a fraction of what it would be new. Also a man in the area carves out of wood, these scenes each year and is in his 80s and it was the big auction item going for over $400.00. I didn't win it someone from West Bay did. My winnings were the sterling silver gravy boat, a wool blanket belonging to David Gunn from PEI when all wool was sent to PEI, another wool blanket of David's, a TFal deep fryer (self contained), dragonfly lights for Jenny, some Royal Daulton plates also in David's collection, a tote bag, a ream of copy paper, perfume for Jenny from NYC (I wanted to buy some for her and it was expensive and the set was $5.00 at auction). Some other people won some fabulous prints from a lady that does watercolor in Cleveland, they were numbered, etc. Plants were sold. So if you can think of anything and everything, it was auctioned off, including cheese. LOL. They have one of these in the summer and one in the Fall.

By the way, tonight is the Potluck Dinner at the West Bay Community Center, I think the price was $15 and kids were $5 if anyone is interested. What a nice group of people to meet and what a nice day it was to fellowship and buy some things for my home that I put off buying.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:00 AM Location MM Village | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
As with any good party, there were a number of things left behind to be delivered to their true owners. There were dishes and clothing left behind intentionally or unintentionally. I also delivered extra leftovers as well. That means I got to see some people all over again and actually get to visit and talk with them. 'Twas nice.

I still have one bowl in my car, a Tupperware container (I wonder whose that is ) and a white plastic bowl holding macaroni salad.

Which brings me to ... I am missing a stainless steel baking pan and I haven't seen it for maybe as long as several months. It's a shallow rectangular pan with handles. I believe it's a Cuisinart. Do any of you know where that is? I'd love to have it back as it was a gift from my mother.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:37 AM Location Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
It's only 20 minutes for mass. The church needs support, attendance is shrinking and the historic, lovely church is at risk of closing. Let's go and plump the numbers. You can tolerate it for 20 minutes and it's for a good cause. Please remember to make a donation.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:27 AM Location The Village | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The air was hot, the water cool and refreshing.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:35 PM Location Duh, the water! | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
What a feast! The cooks outdid themselves this time. This was the best potluck that has ever been held in Marble Mountain Hall. All the dishes were fabulous and the food kept on coming and coming. Great job, ladies.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:26 PM Location The Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
According to the weather forecast, warm weather and some sun will finally move in today. Tomorrow will backslide, then warm again the following few days. I sure hope this is the start of summer weather. It was beginning to look like this was shaping up to be the year without a summer. The following week is forecast to backslide again but I know better than to trust weather forecasts that look more than a couple of days ahead. The gardens need sun & warmth to thrive.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:00 AM Location Nova Scotia | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This coming Saturday at 5:00 the community of Marble Mountain will be holding its annual summer potluck supper in the hall. It is considered one of the best suppers on the island. Nearly everything is homemade and the women of Cape Breton are all excellent cooks. I don't know the price for the supper this year but I doubt it will be over $10.00.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:38 AM Location The MM Hall | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
If you use a personal watercraft, PLEASE GO SLOWLY IN MY COVE! The jet stream of water does immense damage to the bottom of the cove. It uproots vegetation such as watergrasses, destroying habitat for fry, dislodges mollusks and makes a muddy mess of the water. Once you enter the cove, please slow way down so as to leave no wake. Thank you, your cooperation is much appreciated.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:59 PM Location Black's Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Yesterday the members of the North Mountain Nature And Gardening club got together to do plantings of perennials and annuals in the village. First, they spray painted the blue plastic barrel planters brown. That should blend in better than bright blue. You know, like tree trunks, I guess. I've no idea if the website stickers www.marblemountainvillage.com got covered over, probably so. Bill got those made last year and put them on a variety of locations.

The garden club used its plentiful funds to purchase the plants. All the work is done by volunteers. This beautification is done at no expense to the community.

The largest part of this gardening endeavor was the garden in front of the hall. They had to tear up old landscape cloth before they could even begin. I believe a Japanese maple went in there and some daylilies, among other things such as annuals. I was told last week that some of the old potentilla shrubs would be coming out of there so I asked yesterday what they were going to do with the potentillas once they were removed. Carolyn said they can't be moved now because they are in bloom. So what does that mean? They won't be moved after all? Or will they be moved at a later date? If so, where will they go? I believe they originally were from Bunty's garden, placed there as part of an earlier gardening project. I expect I will eventually find out where the potentillas will go. I know they are tolerant of salt water so they could potentially go near the beach.

Marilyn generously contributed hanging baskets for the front of St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Last year I planted a pair of spireas and wild roses in front of the catholic church. It still needs a third planting. I thought that lilacs would be in keeping with the era in which the church was built but recycled potentillas might work as well, if not better. Would the garden club members go for that? To my knowledge none of the members are catholic, most of them attend the United Church or are free of mainstream religion, so they may not like that idea.

The garden club is always looking for projects to do. If you would like assistance with any garden project, let them know. They will be happy to pitch in. If you asked, they might even be happy to do one for you.

It's going to be another beautiful summer in Marble Mountain. Now to get some sun & warm weather so it looks and feels like summer.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:38 AM Location In The Village | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Driving in to Port Hawkesbury this morning I must have looked like I had been on a bender. I was swerving left and righ to avoid getting lost in the deep crater potholes. That road is full of countless deep and wide potholes that will likely throw my wheels out of kilter enough to wear them out before their time and force me to get them realigned more often than I should have to. We should start sending our repair and replacement bills to the governement. If we added up all it costs all of us in parts, wear and tear on our cars, that alone will add up to the cost of replacing the road. Grrr.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:40 PM Location Marble Mountain Road | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
If you plan to partake of lobster at the party Saturday evening, please let Tom or Russell know how many lobsters to pick up for you. I don't know what the price is but they are at their cheapest in years.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:43 AM Location Mountain Road | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The CFA's (come from away's) are trickling in a few at a time. The Beavers arrived two or three weeks ago. The Feddlers were spotted in PH yesterday, Kit saw them. I just got an email from Jutta, she and Armin are in residence in the Yellow Compound. I have not seen nor heard from Theresa and Grant but I heard a rumor that they won't be here and no word on the Livingstone's yet. The MacMillan's will be here before long, no doubt, I'll have to email Robin and find out their arrival date. Dave MacDonald was here last week and he has returned out west. Pat and Johnny Mac should be moving in any day now.

Time for a party! The first bash of the season will be this weekend at Russell's and the theme is lobsters. I'll be bringing a pot of beans.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:39 AM Location In The 'Hood | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
You have to get up early in the morning to get ahead of Russell (and Tom - yes, we know who prepared the evite).

We were planning to have a shebang to start the summer and we had procrastinated announcing it. Then an invitation arrived in our email for a lobster bash thrown by Russell. Oops, too late. Maybe we will schedule ours for later, when the nights are a little warmer.

I'll bring a nice, hot pot of beans to the lobster bash for those of us who don't eat lobster.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:49 AM Location patio | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We had a frost last night. When I got up this morning the temperature was 34 F / 1 C. The strawberry leaves are concave and rimmed in frost. The grass is sparkly. Once the bright sunshine warms the plants I'll be able to see just how much damage was done. Good thing we planted frost-hardy veggies in the garden and put down row covers over the delicate seedlings.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:47 AM Location Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This is a great time to enjoy the view of the cove via the webcam. The cove is truly lovely this evening.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:34 PM Location Black Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The first hummingbird has not been seen but heard, by Kit, while having lunch on the patio today. Still too shy to visit the feeder while humans are present, they will soon get over that and swoop us when the feeder is empty. The hummies quickly figure out where the nectar comes from. I have seen the little birdies looking in the window for us to come fill their feeder. Today there was one, tomorrow there will be multiples.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 3:34 PM Location The Patio | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
There was a layer of frost on the cars this morning. May 16, 2007, we woke up to a half a foot of snow on the ground. I can't believe the nights will get that chilly again after this week. This is most likely the last night the temperature will dip below freezing until the fall.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:38 AM Location In The Garden | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The first 2 asparagus spears poked up through the soil yesterday, still pink on the tips and white on the still-short stalks. With a spell of warm & sunny weather the rest of the asparagus plants will be sending up a plethora of spring bounty. This is the first year we will be able to harvest to our heart's content, the plants have finally reached that strong & sturdy age. Still, common sense dictates that we leave a few stalks on each plant so the plants can feed themselves.

Hosta's are tough plants. Last year I dug up many of my hosta plants because they were not in a good location. Problem solved, or so I thought. If you look at the places where I dug out the hosta last year, you will see fresh, healthy hosta shoots coming up. They must regenerate themselves from the humblest pieces of root. I am impressed!

As per usual, the weather forecast is completely off. The forecast is for a high of 43/6.1 with clouds and showers, it's already in the low 50's/11 and still rising. With today's bright sun it wouldn't suprise me to see the temperature get into the 60's this afternoon. Nice, warming sun will get the garden kick-started. Don't relax yet, we're still getting temperature dips below freezing at night.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:15 AM Location The Yard | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
From Bill Legge: CBC Interview Thur 6;15 am

CBC called are we are doing an interview in morning While only have 5-6 min. Ideas to bring up let me know 

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:41 AM Location Radioland | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Summer has arrived, as of today. According to the thermometer on the house, the temperature reached 86F / 30C. My car thermometer reached 91F / 33C. This should get the garden growing. All the spring bulbs are in a hurry to bloom.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:46 PM Location Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Is anyone else having an invasion of big ants? I can't figure out where they are coming from. They are getting sucked up into the vacuum cleaner one-by-one.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:50 AM Location Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I just got back from a walk on the beach with my dog, Flyn, Linda and her dog, Mocha. I wish I had brought my camera, it is a gorgeous day at a gorgeous location. The walk was delightful, the water clear and the wind still.

On our return, we met a young man named Michael who had walked down the side of the hill from the lookoff. He lives in the Big Apple and needed a weekend getaway. When he told his coworkers that he was going to drive around Nova Scotia they told him he was nuts. I think he is enjoying himself and not regretting it. This is a good time of year for travel bargains. Good weather helps.

Michael flew into Halifax and rented a car. He stayed in Baddeck and Ingonish. He wanted to stay at the Keltic Lodge, he said, but it is closed until next month. It reminded him of the Stanley in Estes Park. Me too! We told him he should come back in summer or fall, when everything is open and the area has more to offer to tourists. Maybe he'll return for the Celtic Colours Festival or at least Games Night on Marble Mountain.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:35 AM Location Shoreline | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Christine Louise Crant, 26, of River Denys lost her life at approximately 7:20 a.m. yesterday in an inexplicable accident in my neighborhood. Her fiancee was airlifted by helicopter to Halifax. Another young man walked away from the crash, presumably uninjured. The road was closed until 2:30 in the afternoon. An examiner had to drive in from Sydney to inspect the accident scene before traffic would be allowed through.

As of this morning the injured man is still alive, still in critical condition in Halifax.

Never, ever did we think this could happen here. All of us wonder why the couple was driving on the wrong side of the road. I thought perhaps the car had hit a patch of black ice. Someone else thought he was maybe avoiding one of the awful potholes we have on this road. Another person suspected a deer in the road.

This road is in such poor shape that it tosses cars to & fro. Do you think now the road will be properly surfaced?

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:55 AM Location MM Road | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
There has been a tragic car accident this morning in Marble Mountain, two neighbors' houses away from us. It happened at approximately 7:00 a.m.. The rescue team is presently cutting one of the victims out of the wreckage. The road is closed to traffic for the time being. One young woman died and her beloved has been so badly hurt that he is maybe being airlifted to Halifax, that's if he can survive long enough to make it there. Another young man has been injured but not as badly.

This is a pain they will suffer for the remainder of their lives. My heart goes out to all of them and their families.

Sadly, there is no lesson to be learned, only tragedy suffered.

When you drive on Marble Mountain Road, please slow down and be careful. This is a deceptively difficult road to drive on, with all its broken pavement, potholes, bumps, twists & turns and wildlife on the road.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:43 AM Location Marble Mountain Road | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
7:00 p.m. Dues $3.00 per meeting. Snacks, tea and coffee will be provided.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:11 AM Location My House | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Sitting together, quietly eating lunch, Kit asked if the sound we just heard is a cricket. I listened, there it was again. Sure enough, it's the first spring peeper of the season. Lo, Easter brings peepers! Not the pastel-colored marshmallow kind of peeps but real, live pond dwellers.

The Easter service was delivered by Janet Blois in the hall this morning as folks sat at their tables, prior to brunch. A tremendous amount of food was spread out on the tables and there was more in the oven waiting for room on the table. The tables were covered with gingham and calico tablecloths. It was all very nice.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:13 PM Location The Pond | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The potluck brunch will go on no matter what the weather brings. If you want to know what to bring as your contribution, ask Linda. Linda is coordinating the food for the brunch. It will be a good spread so anything you contribute will be helpful. There is likely to be quite a supply of food but we want to make sure there is enough to make everyone happy. My contribution will offer no dead animals but it will contain animal products - eggs and dairy.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:53 AM Location Hall In Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Next Sunday will be Easter Sunday. Brunch in the hall will follow sunrise service, whatever time that will be. If you want the exact time, you should ask a member of the United church, not me, I'm not a member and they don't give me a copy of their Bulletins. All are welcome to participate regardless of denomination or lack thereof.

Among the offerings will be several egg dishes, fresh fruit, tea & coffee, mushroom & asparagus strata (my contribution), pancakes, lots of bacon, poached eggs on English muffins with Hollandaise (also my contribution) and a variety of other wonderful dishes.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:57 AM Location The United Church and The Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
For the last week we have been treated to a round-the-clock concert of geese honks and squawks. A pair of them have been flying in an out of the cove. At first they were relegated to a small patch of open water where the creek runs into the cove at the property next door. Now the entire shoreline is open water and the ice is retreating southward across to the opposite shore. I say it's a fair assumption that this is a mated pair and we will soon see goslings. This is when the geese get aggressive. I know how to handle those feathered demons - just act like a bigger, meaner goose. They back down when you do that and other humans find it quite entertaining. The dogs help, too. Flyn came from a breeder who has a Suburban Shepherd business in Bethesda, MD, that works for local business parks, neighborhood communities and golf courses to have his Border Collies chase geese off their property. This is how Flyn's relatives earn their living. He comes from good Canada geese-chasing stock.

The other spring birds have also returned, the air is filled with all their mating songs, chirps and tweets. The owls have been quite loud, also. Lately the eagles have been perched at strategic stations along the shoreline and that's a sure sign that some kind of fish are running up the streams to spawn. The birds are busy gathering grass, dog hair and twigs for their nests.

Yesterday Dave D., Kit and I walked our dogs the length of Militia Point. For the first time since last year, we walked it on bare ground, not ice or snow. Though the surface was squishy in places, it was a pleasant walk. When the mountain gets dry enough, we will schedule the first hike over the mountain for 2009.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:31 AM Location Black's Cove | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
After our party in the old hall Saturday evening, two of us were quite sick Sunday. I recovered after a rough Sunday with hurting lungs, all-day wheezing and exhaustion but the other person is now on antibiotics and is quite hoarse. I will be thinking twice about attending any further activities in the hall. So sad. Instead, I will look for activities that I can participate in that are being held outdoors or in other communites.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:27 AM Location The Old Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
As usual, there was a party in Marble Mountain for St. Patrick's Day, this time in the hall instead of someone's house, though there were volunteers. Everyone is Irish on St. Paddy's Day. Russell decided that the menfolk should prepare a boiled dinner and he got Bruce, of Orangedale, to donate corned beef in return for a receipt for $80.00. This charitable designation is already coming in handy. Tom and Kit decorated the hall and Beatrice jumped in to help peel the potatoes. There was corned beef, ham, cabbage. potatoes, rutabaga, parsnips, white rolls and whole wheat rolls with plenty of butter. It was a delightful meal.

The evening commenced with a happy hour from 6:30 - 7:30 before we pounced on the food and ate our fair share. It was not a happy hour for me, I was quite hungry and I was fading as I was waiting. Hunger is not one of my strong points and does not do me well but I managed to hold up until feeding time. Providing hors d'oeuvres probably would have been a good idea. Kit made his usual black & tans. There was plenty of wine flowing, both home made and commercial. After the meal, we had desserts. Judy made a goopy white & green pistachio thing that was quite tasty and I made a yellow plum tart and a peach, plum and blueberry cobbler. The yellow plums were from Anne Landin's tree in Big Harbor Island. Thank you, Anne. I would have included some plums of Michealette's but I plum ran out of them, with regret.

Kit and Tom worked cooperatively to make a music selection of good celtic music. They did a very good job of it, too. Thanks, guys. Russell brought some of his collector's items albums, you know the kind that go around on a turntable and you put a needle on them to get the sound - for those of you too young to remember. There was some classic Newfie music, some Johnny Cash and a few whiny guitar songs, among others.

Immediately following the food, games night commenced with a couple of teams playing darts and a table of card players. It was a particularly sedate party for this crew. A few of us were tired and left early. My lungs were bothering me so we went home at 11:00. This morning we went to the hall to clean up. It wasn't all that messy so we cleaned what we could. We emptied the recycles, coffee pot and tea urn and took the dirty dishes home to run in the dishwasher. Hopefully someone will go up there today to move the leftovers out of the hall.

It will be ever so nice when we have a new hall with professional-grade dishwashers and a clean, organized, functional kitchen. A bathroom that isn't threatening to drop its visitors into the basement would be a relief, too.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:22 PM Location The Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The garden club ladies will be meeting at Lynn's tomorrow to pot shamrocks for the seniors in our community. Lynn wants to focus on the meeting part more than the project. I don't know what's on the agenda but I surely will find out tomorrow evening.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:16 PM Location Lynn's | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Update: Six people and 5 dogs participated in the hike this afternoon. The attendees are: Kit, Wendy, Iris, Catherine, Michealette and myself plus Flyn & Lily the Border collies, little Pippy the Chihuahua mix, lovable Clancy and frisky little Gus the terrier mix.

We walked the length of MIlitia Point Raod, all the way to Kowchefski's, then back again. It took 45 minutes to reach the end, an hour and a half total. The road was pretty icy so we walked on the sides where the snow gave traction. Though some of us tried, none of us fell down. Though there was some wind, the weather was agreeable. This may turn into a weekly event.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:20 PM Location Militia Point Road | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. there will be an open hike down Militia Point Road. You can meet at hall and carpool or meet everyone there.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:46 PM Location Militia Point Road | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Over the last few days we have been hearing a call that we suspect is a fox. The sound is a long, high call. We saw the old, grizzled, strawberry-blond fox in the yard last week. A cougar has been seen in West Bay Marshes so that is a possibility but it's most likely a fox.

Update: A few minutes ago Iooked down toward the cove to see the fox walking along the shoreline. I knew that Flyn was down in the woods there so I called to him to come home. Immediately I saw the fox take off running across the cove to the opposite shore.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:15 AM Location Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
As of this week, the North Mountain Cultural and Recreation Association has received official Charitable status from Revenue Canada. That means that donations to the cause are tax deductible. Go to Facebook to see the Cause on my page. Make a tax-deductible donation, if the spirit moves you, and you will receive a receipt for your tax records.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:41 PM Location Marble Mountain Village | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Our one-day reprieve from frigid weather will be coming to an end tonight. The rain that has been making frozen surfaces slippery will quit shortly or turn back into snow.

For the last few days we have been in a severe deep freeze. All the deep snow that fell starting New Year's Eve is still here, even after a couple of rains. That snow turned to rock-hard ice in the extreme cold. The deep cold also froze the ground impermeably. I know because I have been out there off & on all day trying to chip-chip-chip and scrape the ice off the walk, patio and parking lot with little success. The iced is tightly fused to the patio stones. I may not be able to lift my arms tomorrow.

What a mess the weather has made. Schools were closed and people worked from home, when possible. I don't even dare try to take the car up the driveway, it would only leave deep ruts in it anyway. The temperature rose to the mid- 40's F / 6 C, which made the ground very slippery. I know, I went down into a puddle of water this morning - splash. Wet clothes.

Several of us had hoped to go ice skating once the extreme cold abated. I tested the ice on the cove this afternoon and it is all slushy. There is always the rink in town. Although the arms probably won't work after all of today's ice removal, the legs should work fine for skating.

The forecast claims that the temperature will go below freezing tonight and last for the extent of the foreseeable future, so there should be no more melts. Just a steady supply of additional snow. 2 1/2 weeks to midwinter and counting ...

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:02 PM Location Home Sweet Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We are having a crisis. It's way too cold at night for the Golden Comets. Christy, Dori, Emma, Franni, Gena, Hermione, Ines, Jenna, Kalleigh and Lotti (Abbi and Berti R.I.P.) are experiencing frostbitten combs and need warm hats to wear until the nights warm up a little. Please help if you can. If you don't know how to knit, down-filled fabric hats would be ok, just so long as their combs are covered to protect them from freezing.

Thank you from the bottoms of their little, feathered hearts.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 1:53 PM Location Hen House | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Is there anything left to fail us? Seaside's internet service died at 2:00 a.m. yesterday and didn't come up until suppertime - not a good situation for folks trying to do work. Its entire service was down - for all customers, not only us. There was a lot of egg on Seaside's face yesterday.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:32 PM Location Internet | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Did anyone else get a newspaper today? I looked in the paper tube a little while ago - no paper. Yesterday - a paper. The previous 3 days - no paper. Flyn-the-paper-dog never knows what to expect when he goes to fetch it. Phone service is out as often as it's working for no discernible reason and all we get is obfuscation, evasion and intimidation when we call to report it. Power goes out at the drop of a hat or the slightest breeze, snow or rain and sometimes with no provocation. Does it appear that our community is not being taken seriously?

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:05 AM Location Home Sweet Home | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The polar bear dip is only postponed, not cancelled after all, it has been reschuled for Saturday, same time, same place.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:18 PM Location Lime Hill Beach (MacInnis's or Morrison's Beach) | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
If we truly get the weather that is in the forecast for tonight, there will be no New Year's Polar Bear Dip 2009. If the storm somehow fails to materialize, the dip is still on but I'd be surprised if that turned out to be the case. This will be a good time to get out the snowshoes & x-country skis. Here is what the front page of the Cape Breton Post says about the impending weather:

EMO warns Nova Scotians to be prepared for blizzard

Emergency Management Minister Carolyn Bolivar-Getson is encouraging Nova Scotians to prepare themselves and their families for winter conditions as a New Year’s Eve blizzard approaches the province.

“We all want to enter 2009 safely, so people should take that into consideration when they make their plans for celebrating the new year,” Bolivar-Getson said Wednesday. “You don’t want to be stuck in a blizzard unprepared.”

Environment Canada has issued a blizzard warning for all of Nova Scotia. Heavy snowfall and high winds overnight could make driving treacherous.

“All Nova Scotians should take the time to prepare emergency kits for their homes and vehicles,” Bolivar-Getson said. “A few minutes of preparation can go a long way toward keeping yourself and your loved ones safe and comfortable when winter storms strike.”

The Emergency Management Office website has a thorough checklist for emergency kit supplies. Residents should have emergency items on hand in their homes, such as a battery-powered radio, flashlight, extra batteries, medications, non-perishable food and water, a manual can opener and extra clothing and blankets. They should also have an adequate supply of prescription medications.

Motorists should avoid unnecessary travel during winter storms and listen for weather and travel updates on local radio stations. If it is safe to drive, they should be sure to carry a shovel, sand or salt, extra clothing, food and water, blankets, booster cables and a first-aid kit. And always leave with a full tank of gas. A set of four winter tires is highly recommended.

The Emergency Management Office works closely with municipalities throughout Nova Scotia to ensure preparation for emergency events.

The Cape Breton Post

EMO website: www.gov.ns.ca/emo

Environment Canada weather: www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/canada_e.html

Provincial highway traffic cameras: gov.ns.ca/tran/cameras/camera.asp

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:18 PM Location Beach At Lime Hill | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The 2nd Annual Marble Mountain New Year’s Day Polar Bear Dip will be held at 1:00 p.m. on the beach at Lime Hill, by the cemetery.

It has been decided that donations of bags of groceries for the hungry will be collected at the beach. That's a great idea, wish I had thought of it.

After the dip, there will be a gathering of folks at Michealette's for hot toddies, chowder and munchies. A smoking room will be available outside the house in the guest shed.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:17 PM Location Beach at Lime Hill | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I can understand losing power in the wild & powerful winds that we had the week of Christmas Eve but did it really have to take days to get one transformer replaced on a pole in Big Harbour? I mean, the better part of a week. Only a transformer, not an entire pole or anything so big a job as that. Alice, Charles, Alexander, Beatrice and her family were out all week long, the power came back on last night. That's ridiculous, particularly the part where the person who answers the phones at NSP lies to customers just to get them to hang up and go away. While they had no power, their phones worked, at least until the batteries ran out.

While they had no power, Marble Mountain and Malagawatch had no phones. Every time any of us call 611 to report that our phones aren't working we get told the same nonsense - that ours is the only call and that no one else has reported the outage, even though we include our neighbors in the report. That's total garbage. Doesn't it make you wonder how lying comes so easily to them?

To put this situation in true perspective, you can't help but wonder how we're supposed to report phone outages ON PHONES THAT DON'T WORK. The weather was awful, the snow getting deep with a layer of ice in the middle, the roads are treacherous and the phone company wants each and every one of us to get in our cars and drive to a live phone to report the outage individually. Even all the old folks who never go out in this kind of weather. We told the phone company over and over again that this is a community of older folks, some of whom live totally alone, who need service in case of emergency and it's also how they keep in touch with other folks in the community. Without phones these people are completely isolated. The phone company doesn't seem to take this seriously.

And the phone company plays games with us. When I call to report the outage I am intimidated into rescinding my request for service by a representative who tells me that if they come out and it's my phone, not their service, they will make me pay a high fee, basically scary intimidation tactics. It's a wonder any of us gets up the courage to report outages. We pay a lot of money to the phone company and we don't deserve to be treated like that. I hope someone at the utilities is reading this.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:25 PM Location Marble Mountain And Big Harbour Island | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Plans are afoot for the Polar Bear Dip next Thursday. There will be a gathering afterward at Michealette's for hot chowder and warming toddies. More details to follow.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:36 AM Location The Beach | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
L’Arche Cape Breton's Annual Christmas Pageant “The Legend of the Poinsettia” was great!

The Ice Lid Cometh - For the first time this season ice has covered the cove from side to side and we haven't even reached the first day of winter. I can see water just past our property toward the open lake so the ice will melt soon, likely before lunch.

A Larger, More-Personal Chill In The Air - Along with temperatures, the economy is tanking all over North America and the economic downturn and resultant hardship is spreading to the other America's (Central and South) as well as Europe and elsewhere. It a global economy, downturns are contagious. Let's hope that whatever and wherever the economy hits an upswing will be equally contagious. In a world where the actions and circumstances of one country affect another like dominoes, you could think of this as a version of being your brother's keeper. Have you noticed the proliferation of plans for homemade gifts? Even the upscale publications are getting more homey and simplified.

By the way, Howd'ya like that guy who chucked both his shoes at President Bush? He has one good pitching arm! Nuff said.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:41 AM Location Everywhere | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Marble Mountain will be holding the @nd Annual New Year's Day Polar Bear Dip the afternoon of January 1. Everyone is welcome to participate. All are asked to bring a bag full of groceries to be donated to the local food bank. Hot drinks wil be provided for the dippers, to be followed by a gathering afterward for hot chowder and hot toddy. The day is only 3 weeks away!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:53 PM Location Beach | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The annual Orangedale UCW Tea and Sale is scheduled to be held on Sunday, November 30, 2:00 – 4:00 in the church basement, same as last year.

The ladies of Orangedale, Marble Mountain and other neighboring communities have been getting together weekly to handcraft items to sell at the sale. There will be knitted goods, wreaths, tree ornaments, fudge, outdoor decorative greens baskets, bows, baskets of firestarters, all kinds of cakes, cookies & other goodies and much, much more than can be described here.

As always, tea will be provided along with a variety of sandwiches, tea breads and cookies. It's a lot of fun and a good place to pick up trinkets, stocking stuffers and gifts for the difficult-to-buy-for. Please join us. Come early for a good selection. There will be a small entrance fee - and it's very well worth the price, plus it helps the Charge cover costs.

Proceeds Benefit the Orangedale Church of UCW and the greater Charge comprised of Orangedale, Marble Mountain & River Denys.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 1:16 PM Location Orangedale Church Basement | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The phone has been out all day. How do you call the phone company to report an outage when your phone doesn't work? The cell phone doesn't work here, either. I could get in the car and drive until I get signal. This would be the ideal time to have skype. This phone service outage is happening when the local woods, fields and roadsides are teeming with hunters. Bad timing.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 3:05 PM Location Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
On Wednesday I wrote a $200.00 check to the community for the new hall and handed it over to Russell White. My goal in starting the farmer's market was twofold: to bring fresh, organically grown produce to the community and to raise money toward the building of the new hall. I set aside another $200.00 to purchase seeds for next year, which will cost approximately $100.00, and to purchase row covers and tomato cages, which will cost way more than that but it's a start and the materials should be reusable. When I started, my only goal was to generate revenue, there was no dollar amount that would signify success or failure, so I consider the endeavor a success.

The project has grown in concept and participation. Next year we will probably open table space to other vendors for a fee, much the way the other local farmer's markets in Sydney and Antigonish do. If we can get the funds, there will be a covered pavilion or gazebo as well.

None of this progress could have happened or will be happening next summer without the support, generosity, encouragement and participation of the wonderful people in this community and nearby communities. It has been a lesson to me in community, acceptance and generosity of spirit and this may not have been possible anywhere else. To all of you, a great, big Thank You!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:03 AM Location Local | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Today six women gathered for the last day of crafting in preparation for the tea and sale that we have been working toward for the last two or three months. Whew! We have had some busy craft days and I humbly offer that there are plenty of good seasonal and seasonless things that have been created for this sale.

Each of the women brought a different sensibility and talent to the crafting. As usual, we surprise ourselves and each other with the novelty, usefulness and appeal of the goods. There are tree ornaments, table coverings & napkins, freshly-baked shortbreads, fruitcakes, jellies & jams, knitted goods, miniature tabletop trees, neighborly gifts, note cards, packaged & wrapped hot drink gifts, firestarters decoratively wrapped in gift baskets and much more.

Especially you will want to see the baskets of seasonal greens that will be sold to dress up your outdoor entry way. The baskets have been hand painted, the greens freshly gathered and arranged in time for the sale.

If you are looking for a little trinket or something unusual, this is the sale for you. You will have to pay admission to get into the tea & sale and that will get you a light lunch of home made goodies and tea as well as access to the sale. My advice is to go early because the best things go fastest.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 3:08 PM Location 6448 MM Rd. | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Be alert for a truck black Dodge truck with plate # DZA221. The men are shooting deer from the road as they drive along. They shot a doe with two fawns, the doe took off into the woods wounded and one of the fawns was killed, the other fawn remains unscathed so far. Some more responsible hunters are out in the woods looking for the doe at present. The men in the black Dodge truck are not hunting carefully and responsibly so expect anything from them and be very, very careful.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:19 AM Location Roadside | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Say what you will about how dorky Mr. Rogers was, he did sometimes make a good point. When I go for my daily walk with my two border collies and neighbors, I sometimes think of the lyrics from theme song to his show. This morning the road to Buechen's bridge was exceptionally beautiful, all covered in snow and glistening in the bright sunshine, and Michealette and I were chattering about about all kinds of things. As Mr. Rogers always would sing at the start of his show:

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood,

A beautiful day for a neighbor,

Would you be mine?

Could you be mine?

It's a neighborly day in this beautywood,

A neighborly day for a beauty,

Would you be mine?

Could you be mine?

I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you,

I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you.

So let's make the most of this beautiful day,

Since we're together, we might as well say,

Would you be mine?

Could you be mine?

Won't you be my neighbor?

Won't you please,

Won't you please,

Please won't you be my neighbor?

Spoken: Hi television neighbor, I'm glad we're together again....

Yeah, pretty dorky but still catchy.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:32 PM Location On The Road Behind The Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
All the vehicles are coated in white and the green grass is spotted with white. I am sure this is only a fleeting snow so early, only a tease of what is sure to follow over the next few months. In a few days the forecast claims we will have tee shirt weather. I'll believe it when I see it.

3:00 p.m. update - the snow is not fleeting, it's getting deep, and the wind is howling. Brrr. It looks like the middle of winter out there.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:41 AM Location Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Thanks go to Kit, Hughie & Charlie for taking Ed's boat safely out of the water today. It was a lot of work for the three of them, they put in a full morning and part of the afternoon, and they handled the task well. Kudos to you, guys. The boat is back in my driveway but that's another story. As long as the old tractor can find its way around the boat in the snow, all is good. Old tractors are like old dogs, ya gotta love 'em. Next year all the boats will come out by Halloween. I don't think these men want to deal with me stressing over it again.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location Black's Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Over the weekend our two boats got hauled out of the cove and put on land for the winter. There were a couple of days when the air went still and we took advantage of the opportunity to get the boats out while it was easy. The sailboat come out first on Saturday, with the pickup truck pulling it up the ramp. The sailboat is light enough for our little Frontier pickup truck to handle and the ramp was dry and the move was uneventful.

Unfortunately, on Sunday the wind picked up as we were taking the second boat, the Dart, out of the cove and gusts kept pushing the boat away before we could get it winched up onto the trailer. Hauling boats out of the water in any kind of wind is a challenge but the gusts made the process oh so much more challenging. It took at least a half hour, perhaps three quarters of an hour to get it on the trailer. Eventually we prevailed and the "authentic red lobster boat" Dart is now resting safely in the yard until next spring.

The only boat left in the cove to be pulled out is Ed's. I wonder who is going to do that job. Not me, that's for sure. Hopefully there will be a spell of still air again before the winter freeze so it can be pulled out with a minimum amount of effort by whoever is tasked with the job. Last year we waited too long to take the boats out and we had a Dickens of a time pulling boats up an icy ramp in the sleet and we only pulled it off with Charlie's help. No sooner did we get the boats out than the cove froze over. We did it in the nick of time, not in jig time. A boat left in the water over the winter would get crunched to shreds by ice.

My little Frontier pickup truck barely pulled the Dart out yesterday and the clutch was smoking something fierce. What a stink it made. I hope that isn't the start of a clutch failure. I grew up in a garage, you'd think I would know more about clutches. Too bad dad isn't around any longer when I need to ask him a car mechanics question.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:26 AM Location Home Sweet Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
A group of women gets together each fall to produce handmade items for the Tea & Sale that raises operating money for the United Church in Orangedale.

This year a new member has joined the group - Anne Landin, from Big Harbor Island in the warmer months and North Carolina in the colder months. Little did we know when we asked her to join us that she is an expert, experienced crafter. Not only does she have skill, she has that elusive and amorphous trait called "eye" for how things look their best and what goes together.

For Helen, it's a day away from the intensive mothering of her three preschoolers. Helen is a bottomless resource of good ideas and she wields a mean pointy-tip Sharpie when it comes time to do lettering.

Michelaette has become a whiz at wax-dipping and arranging baskets, not to mention fancy edge-cutting and feeding us all wonderful lunches.

Myself, I've been working on minitaure and "sweet" items. Wait till you see what's for sale this year at this year's Tea & Sale. Woo-hoo! Don't miss it. Keep reading for more details.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 3:08 PM Location Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This is the last weekend for the Farmer's Market of 2008 in Marble Mountain and the pumpkins are finally ready for sale. The pumpkins range from little to too-big-to-lift and they are suitable for jack o' lanterns at Halloween

Also offered: purple-top turnips, small zucchini-type Largo squash, fresh herbs, jams & jellies, bread & butter pickles, bottled plums, applesauce, scenic view of Marble Mountain postcards and corn stalks for seasonal decorations.

Saturday October 11 is Herb Day http://www.herbday.org/ so come get fresh herbs for whatever you are making - food or crafts.

Anne Landin will return with her exquisite knitted goods and skeins of handspun wool yarn and you never know what other goodies she will have for you to purchase. Her knitting is very special and would make good gifts for the special people in your life, especially the difficult-to-buy-for people.

Sadly, the printing company was not able to get the order for Berni Thorneycroft's artwork on note cards completed before the close of the market for the season. Do not despair, when we procure the order, you will be able to purchase the cards at the Marble Mountain Hall on Wednesday evenings 7:15 - 9:15 during Games Night or contact me and I will be happy to provide them to you.

This is the last weekend I will be doing this in 2008 so come for a visit even if you don't want to buy anything. You would be hard-put to find a lovelier view and the people who show up there are always pleasant company. You could make a new friend or renew an old acquaintance. I intend to resume the farmer's market in Summer 2009 with a greater selection. Suggestions are welcome so do let me know what you would like to see offered next year.

Hours: Friday and Saturday morning 10:00 - 12:00 noon Hope to see you there!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:29 AM Location The Look-off | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The November meeting will be a birdwalk on the causeway, with no formal meeting.  November 1st at 9:00 am at the visitors' center. 

The December  meeting will be to make decorative Christmas baskets of greens. It will be held at Carolyn's on December 8th at 7:00 p.m.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:13 AM Location Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
No wonder the radishes, turnips and pumpkins grew so well. He is a hard worker, that Herb. By the look of him, the scarecrow, Herb, spent a happy summer out in the field infusing the garden with his joy. A close inspection revealed that he is indeed a fertility god. I should have given Herb a better look when he was first hung. I wonder who the artist used for the model, that is one impressive scarecrow and definitely one-of-a-kind.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:19 AM Location The Kernel | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The garden is winding down and soon it will be getting put to bed until spring. The last of the produce will be harvested over the next week. There will be more (small) turnips, a few green tomatoes, Asian greens that look a little motheaten but are perfectly good otherwise, possibly two small but delectable Delicata squash, a variety of herbs, apples, bottled plums, jams & jellies, pickles, zukes and maybe a few green beans. The cukes are finis. There is approximately a dozen pumpkins of varying sizes, wish me luck picking them up. I tried to grow parsnips but they refuse to get larger than pencil-thin. There will be a few cornstalks and sunflowers for seasonal decorations.

If she can make it, Anne Landin will return with her exquisite knitted goods and skeins of handspun wool yarn. She also has jams and baked goods to offer. You should try her apple pudding if she makes it again, it's quite good, ditto for her blueberry cakes.

As always, scenic postcards of Marble Mountain are available 5/$1.00. I hope to have cards with artwork from Berni Thorneycroft available before we close the market for the season. Has it really taken that long to get the cards printed? wow. I'll see if I can get that job moved along so you can purchase them this season. I apologize for the long delay. A gorgeous, large bunch of dried hydrangeas is offered for $5.00 to beautify your home or give as a gift. They are lovely enough to display as-is or you can spiff them up to suit your decor.

I'll make a pot of hot coffee so bring a mug and come for a visit even if you don't want to buy anything. You would be hard-put to find a lovelier view and the people who show up there are always pleasant company. You could make a new friend or renew an old acquaintance.

Hours: Friday and Saturday morning 10:00 - 12:00 noon I doubt the market will go beyond the second weekend in October, it all depends on how the pumpkins, apples and preserves sell and, as always, the weather. Maybe I should continue until after Celtic Colours is over? Hope to see you there!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location The Look-off | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This week's selection includes organic plums of what may be Damson variety, various herbs, purple-top turnips, cukes and zukes. As always, Marble Mountain scenic vista postcards are 5/$1. Also, pickles, jelly and jam and snacks are being offered. The pumpkins are turning orange so you can expect to see them for sale in the weeks to come.

You will nearly always find good company at the lookoff so even if you don't want to buy, bring your coffee in a thermal cup and come for the camaraderie. This is also a good time & place to do a book swap, if you like.

There is a nor'easter that feels like a tropical storm moving in over the weekend and it's difficult to determine when it will arrive with any accuracy. If the rain holds off, I will be out there tomorrow morning. This storm is forecast to be a doozy, bringing heavy rainfall and high winds, and we could lose power. You may want to consider filling a jug or two of water if you use a water pump. If you have a generator, make sure you have enough fuel for it. We are all set at our house. Our water is gravity-fed, there is a wood stove in the house, the range is gas-fueled and we can always bake in and cook on the cookstove in the screen room. We bought a generator so we can read in the evenings, which is one of our favorite activites. Advice: don't park your car under a tree.

Remember: New Fall Hours 10 - Noon Friday & Saturday

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:48 AM Location The Look-off | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
A moose was seen by Gail, who is visiting from Newfoundland. The sighting was verified by Michealette. It was grazing its way across Bunty's yard at dusk. No further sightings have been reported.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:35 PM Location Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Yesterday the Thank You Dinner was held at a house up the Mountain Road for the volunteers who work on making Marble Mountain Family Day a success. There was good food aplenty - 3 kinds of green salads, 2 potato salads, 2 cole slaws and a summer squash casserole. As always, Martin's cake was gorgeous and a big hit with everyone. Had I known mine was one of 3 salads I would have brought green beas instead, now that they are coming out of my garden, instead of purchased lettuce from Sobey's. Oh well, this will go into the mental notes for next year. Since this is Marble Mountain, there was plenty of wine, mostly home made.

The music selection ran the gamut from Newfoundland style to country to fiddle sets to Eagles to YMCA and by the end of the night people were singing and dancing on the tables. Next year we will have a karaoke machine and Iris, Linda, Tom and I will put a cd together of good party music and commandeer the boom box. Party!

By 10:30 cleaup was nearly completed and the designated drivers made their deliveries. The last of the partyers departed for home at midnight.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:27 AM Location Up The Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Today we had a highly successful morning at the Marble Mountain Farmer's Market. I say "we" because Anne Landin set up a table alongside mine to sell her handmade knitted items. Before you think that knitted items are a-dime-a-dozen, hers are more than that. The wool in the scarf is handspun from the very first shearing of a young sheep and knitted in such a way as to bring out the young curls on the ends of the wool. Those sweet, little curls only happen on the very first shearing of a sheep so the scarf knitted from that yarn is very special. That scarf would make a truly unique gift for a friend or yourself. The socks are beautiful and eye-catching in rich colors such as deep blue and light butter yellow. I can't describe it all, you will find lots more than that. Anne will be away this coming weekend; I expect to see her the following weekend of September 26/27.

The garden is not producing as much as I had hoped for this time of year. The lettuce is a lost cause for the entire growing season. Who ever heard of lettuce not growing? It happened this year. I have stopped harvesting the Asian greens because the grasshoppers are eating holes in the leaves, making it look like lace. Not good to look at but not harmful either. Once the weather cools enough to get rid of the grasshoppers, I will resume selling bok choy, joi choi, komatsuna and red mustard greens, depending on production. Don't know what to do with this unusual produce? I have recipes so either ask me to email them or come visit me at the lookoff next Friday and Saturday mornings at the new fall hours 10 - 12 and peruse the collection. The purple-top turnips and radishes are reliable crops, too, assuming the radishes don't frost before they are big enough to harvest. The pumpkins are showing signs of orange. As always, a variety of herbs will be available.

There was 30 pounds of cukes for sale but no one was making pickles this week. When life gives you cukes ... I hope to have jars of pickles to sell by Friday. Jars of bottled organic plums are being offered and freshly made crabapple jelly by Michealette, another special treat, and it's a lovely and unusual rosy hue. If we can find time, baked goods and/or snacks will be included in the selection, too. The Largo zukes are maturing but the cooler weather is making that happen more slowly and you should expect to see them come Friday. People occasionally contribute a variety of veggies from their gardens and fruit from their trees and we never know what that will be in advance, you simply have to come see for yourself. Drop in for a visit, you will have a good time and maybe make some new friends or reconnect with old friends. Bring your coffee or tea and come join a very pleasant group of people at the lookoff.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location Look-Off | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This week: purple-top turnips, komatsuna greens, bok choi, joi choi, 1 zuke to the first customer who wants it, herbs, apple jelly, canned plums, fresh plums - possibly the Stanley variety - and little green apples. All produce is organic. There may be cukes but I am not sure about that, they are being donated. I am providing vegetarian/vegan recipes if you need help figuring out what to do with the produce. Remember to purchase some Marble Mountain scenic vista postcards 5/$1.00. What a bargain!

There won't be any baked goods or coffee tomorrow unless someone else provides it because there aren't enough hours in my day to do it all. Bring a cup of coffee and come visit with me and whoever else shows up. The company is always pleasant.

Before long there will be a few pumpkins. I was hoping to have a good number of winter keeping squash such as Hubbard, butternut, acorn and turban but they have not grown. The green beans never materialized, either, ditto for the tomatoes and peppers, among several other veggies, herbs and cutting flowers that never grew enough to sell. Maybe next year there will be a good crop of them. 2009's garden will have row covers to keep the birds away and to warm the plants. I'll keep trying until it works. Interestingly, nothing grew as well as the Asian greens.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:02 PM Location The LookOff (the Dump) | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The repair of the look-off was completed today with the installation of guard rail. At the edge of the look-off, overlooking the slope, are a number of metal posts. Soon those posts will become a working fence. The crew did a great job and we are grateful. Thank you, guys! - The Citizens Of Marble Mountain

Posted by Maggie Davis At 2:23 PM Location The Look-off or Dump | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Jelly is a popular item at the Marble Mountain Farmer's Market here at the lookoff. That's both the good news and the bad news. The good news is that the jelly is selling, the bad news is that we are running out of jelly jars. If you have any jelly or canning jars clogging up your storage space and cabinets, we would be happy to put them to good use, if you are willing to donate them. Wide mouth, narrow-neck canning jars, whatever, we can use them. Many thanks!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 1:20 PM Location Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This morning a crew of road workers is busy putting fill in the eroded segment of the lookoff. Already they have put 7 loads of rock in there. They will work a full day today and expect to return tomorrow. The fill is coming out of Calder's, I was told.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:57 AM Location Lookoff or Dump | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I won't be bringing coffee and snacks to the lookoff when the workers are repairing the erosion. In a conversation with Caroline yesterday she told me that she is planning to bring the workers free coffee to thank them for all the work they did and will be doing to improve our community. Two people doing the same thing is unneccessary, I'll pass the baton.

If the gentlemen are out there working at repairing the look off, I will bring produce to sell. Even if they are not out there, I will bring produce to sell. Tomorrow's offering: turnips, cucumbers, carrots and butternut squash. Also, herbs such as mint, thyme, oregano and marjoram. House plants and perennial. Postcards of Marble Mountain - 5 / $1.00.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:17 PM Location Lookoff | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Tomorrow and Wednesday, so I've been told, road crews will be working to shore up the slope that has been precariously eroding over the last couple of years with the torrential rains that have been falling on our community. I spoke with a gentleman from PH at the overlook last week who said that it is a very expensive endeavor and will cost the county at least $300,000.00, potentially more. That's still cheaper than building a new road or bridge in the middle of Marble Mountain. It appears that the hillside has been held together with old, wooden beams that have disintegrated over time, as wood is wont to do in wet conditions.

I am very happy that the slope is getting repaired. It has been eroding at a rate of up to 5 feet per week, depending on the forcefulness of the rains. At the rate it is eroding the road would have been washed away before next spring so all of us are happy to have the workers here. The entire community may come out to cheer them on and express appreciation for their work.

To provide a service to the workers, I plan to bring coffee pots and coffee cake to the lookoff tomorrow at 10:00 to sell to the workers for $1.00 per. That's far cheaper than Tim's or Dragonfly (formerly Uncle Ron's).

Later in the day I will set up the Marble Mountain Farmer's Market produce stand. This week's offering will be purple-top turnips, a few herbs and not much more. There may be some zukes or a cuke, we shall see. The cutting flowers are beginning to bloom but don't hold your breath. Without actual sunshine there aren't many plants that will produce anything. I may have to offer some green and wax beans from my home garden just to fill out the selection. Soon I should have Damson plums to sell and home-made organic apple jelly.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:31 PM Location The Dump | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The garden is in full swing, providing a plethora of vegetables. This week's offerings: cukes, largo squash (a wonderful zucchini-type, only better), green beans, purple-top turnips, rainbow swiss chard and organic apple jelly made from local apples. Come by to get the produce fresh, it can't wait for Friday. You are welcome to call or email me to make sure what you want is in the mix.

Flowers for cutting are beginning to bud so those should be ready soon. Herbs: oregano, mint, lemon balm, chives.

While you are getting your vegetables, consider purchasing a few Marble Mountain scenic panorama postcards 5/$1.00.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 1:51 PM Location In The Garden | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The humble Farmer's Market has brought in enough revenue so far to purchase maybe a pair of folding chairs, approximately 2/3 of a comfortably upholstered folding chair or 1/6 of a marble windowsill. Our gratitude goes out to the folks who have generously contributed to the market and to those who come by regularly to purchase. Thank you to Michaelette for donating 3 jars of her lovely homemade organic apple jelly, which is made from local apples; the jelly is a big seller already! The Marble Mountain scenic vista postcards are beginning to sell, too.

Green beans are starting to come on, the summer squashes are picking up speed and the flowers for cutting should be blooming soon. The greens need to be replanted so don't expect more salad greens anytime soon. The pumpkins are putting along, though this warm rain should help them grow size. Big, orange pumpkins should sell well later in the season, along with green tomatoes and semi-mature peppers and herbs.

2008 Goal: 1 table with 4 chairs, a window or a fireplace mantel for the new North Mountain Community Hall, whenever it gets built. "The longest journey begins with one step."

Next market dates: Friday and Saturday mornings 9 - 11, as usual, and Sunday after church in the MM village, all dates weather permitting. Bring coffee or tea and come join me at the lookoff - there is no lovelier place for a get-together. If you have the wherewithall, bring goodies to sell because every little bit helps. Cookies, oatcakes and muffins are always popular.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:20 AM Location The Lookoff (The Dump) | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This Week's Selection is only slightly different from last week: Flowers, salad greens & cooking greens such as chard and kale and Asian Stir-Fry greens (joi choi pak choi, komatsuna, red mustard and baby pak choi), herbs, summer squashes, purple-top turnips, oatmeal cookies and drinks. There hasn't been enough traffic at my humble stand so I'm going to try this afternoon at the lookoff, unless I feel at risk of being blown away in these gales & gust. It's sunny so I won't complain too much, I am very happy to see the sun again.

I still plan to get out there with the produce on Friday and Saturday mornings 9-11. I will also do the market after Sunday's service in the Village.

The basil is growing a little better now that we have some sunshine and I hope to get at least one crop of it this year. The tomatoes haven't even tried blossoming and the pepper plants are still tiny. The pumpkins are coming along nicely, with some itsy bitsy fruit on them. Perhaps pumpkins will save the farm market later this year. Forget about winter squash this year.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:47 AM Location The Lookoff (The Dump) | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This Week's Selection: Flowers, lettuce, salad greens & cooking greens such as chard and kale and Asian Stir-Fry greens (joi choi pak choi, komatsuna, red mustard and baby pak choi), herbs, oatmeal cookies. Let's hope we have dry weather so I can get out there with the produce on Friday and Saturday mornings 9-11. Should I also do the market after Sunday's service, what do you think about that?

Next week should bring squashes, both zucchini and yellow crookneck types. The basil is growing slowly due to lack of sunshine so it isn't ready this week. The tomatoes haven't even tried blossoming and the pepper plants are still tiny. The pumpkins are coming along nicely, with some itsy bitsy fruit on them. The radishes are just about done for this year.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:18 PM Location Lookoff | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Fun Day is commencing presently, starting at noon today. Lots of fun activities, a magic show and the annual poker run will be part of the activities. Barbecue, corn and drinks are being served at the wharf. Come on down!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:38 AM Location Marble Mountain Beach & Wharf | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Services will be held next in MM on August 17, I think. You should double check for date & time as I'm going by memory of the posting I saw hanging in the Post Office.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location Marble Mountain Village Churches | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Or should it be called the Usquebaugh Locavore Market? ("usquepaugh" means "shining water" in Gaelic - also a metaphor for whiskey - and note the "b" for Scottish Gaelic and the "p" for Irish Gaelic. Lesson over. Plese, if you have anything to sell, join me at the lookoff. I have been told that Farmer's Markets are successful if there is 60% hand-made goods offered for sale. I already have a promise of seasonal jams & jellies (Damson plum & wild apple) later in the season. This is a win-win for all aprticipants. Everyone comes out ahead!

This morning's market got rained out. If there is something you want, stop by. Everything is still priced at $1.00 each. If the weather looks more promising, I may yet set up at the look off (dump).

As I may have mentioned before, whatever is currently coming out of the garden is what is being sold this week: flowering thyme & mint herbs, flowers, 2 kinds of radishes and tender lettuce mix. The flowers are tall Sweet William in variegated shades ranging from deep fuchsia to a pretty baby pink. Next year I expect the lavenders will be big enough to sell some branches, though I want to keep enough to make Lavender Ladies for the Orangedale Tea and Sale.

Next week I expect: long, green, ribbed marrow squash that is much larger and much tastier than zucchini, though they do resemble each other somewhat in looks. If the sugar snap peas go into overdrive those will be offered, too, but don't hold your breath waiting for them.

The tomatoes are starting to set tiny, green fruit. The beans should be setting blooms soon. Nearly all the squashes are budding. There are 4 kinds of Chinese greens growing but they have itsy bitsy pinprick holes in the leaves. I can't figure what's eating them but I should treat them with something that's harmless to humans and the environment.

Last night's rain should help everything in the garden grow abundantly.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:51 AM Location At The Look Off | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I statred the MM farmers' market last week to marginal success, which is what I expected. I managed to sell some of nearly everything I offered, only plants did not sell. That's not bad for a first week. If there were a wider variety of goods for sale I believe this venture would take off and become a destination. Yesterday an overheard conversatioin was related to me that said that for a farmer's market to be successful ther needs to be 60% home made goods. Got anything to sell? I'm not sure i"ve picked the best hours of the day for this. My thinking was that holding it 9-11 in the morning would catch people on their way to town and other activities but I have no way of knowing if that's a high-traffic time. Perhaps the afternoon would be a better choice to reach peoploe out for a social drive.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:14 AM Location Look Off | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I have been neglecting to inform on the progress of the replacement wharf. Work has been going on for at least a week, maybe two, though I've lost count of the days. Charlie has been there every day, all day, from early in the morning until the evening. That man has stamina to marvel over. At first Ron helped, then Bill pitched in and he has been there most days but he still has lingering damage from an injury from last year, Dave D. has been there most days, Wipeout was there as a paid employee for a day and he made a significant contribution, George was there for a while yesterday afternoon and attached the canvas wrap. Kit has been there pretty nearly every day, all day, doing every job that needed to be done. At 57 he's the youngest among the crew. Completion is inching ever closer.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:45 AM Location The Wharf | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
July 27 1:00 pm

August 10 1:00 pm

August 31 1:00 pm

Thank you Bill & Betty Jean for providing this info.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 2:06 PM Location Catholic Church | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Due to weather damage, the beach road has holes and lumps in it and puddles of loose gravel that make going up it hazardous. Do use the beach but park up the road and walk down the road to the beach or park at the wharf and walk across to the beach. I went down there in my Subaru wagon, which is one of the most reliable vehicles on the road, and got mired on the road just before it mreges with the wharf road. I had to back down and come back up again. You might want to think that I had a problem because I paused as I went up the steep part but I didn't. I knew ahead of time that it is a treacherous road and that people get stuck on it so I made a point of maintaining speed but I started to dig in and slide on the diagonal. I backed down the road until I got to a relatively flatter spot and came back up again, this time trying to position my wheels on a different part of the road surface. I started to mire in it again but somehow managed to get past that and on to the safer stretch of road without sliding off the edge. It was scary and I'm as limp as a cooked noodle from the experience.

This road problem is scheduled to be resolved soon. Guard rails will be installed and the road surface will be smoothed. As soon as I hear about that I will let you know that it is safe to use that road again.

The beach is marvelous, as always. There are plenty of people with kids and dogs enjoying the beach. I hope none of them will need to get towed out today.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 1:27 PM Location Beach Road | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Imagine it if you can, Marble Mountain is ever so much more beautiful today with the addition of 6 barrels of flowers. There is one at the wharf, one at the split between the road to the wharf & beach, one at the top of the road, one at the hall and two at the lookoff. We're proud of our community, happy to be here and more than willing to dress up our little neighborhood. There have also been several hanging baskets put in the village by Marilyn (the Catholic church) and Shirley (the sign at the top of the road to the wharf), which we all greatly appreciate.

Last week Fiona and I put flowers in 4 of the barrels, which were placed at the wharf (1), hall (1) and lookoff (2). We put in a combination of annuals, houseplants and perennials. We did the same again this morning, only it took us longer to do 2 barrels today than the 4 combined last week. The barrels were full of sand and had to be moved into place. Fiona and I tried to do it ourselves with a dolly but it weighed too much so we got assistance from Tom, who was very gracious about the whole project, especially considering that we dropped it on him with absolutely no advance notice. He must have heard the desperation in my voice when I called, imploring him to help us move the barrels. Those things are heavy when they are full of sand, even with pieces of styrofoam in the bottom. The heat didn't help, either. Tom walked the barrels down MM road and situated them in their permanent places, first one, then the other. Tom, you're great! But don't let it go to your head.

Fiona and I then got to work planting the barrels and giving them lots of water. She brought slow-release fertilizer pellets, mushroom compost and peat to add to the sandy soil. She also contributed a selection of interesting annuals. I contributed a selection of annuals and perennials, including blue iris that I had dug from my yard. I spent a total of nearly $9.00 on all those plants; I don't know what Fiona spent but it is all worth every penny.

All 6 of the barrels are in full-sun locations so all the shade-tolerant plants came back home. I saved a significant amount of nasturtium seeds from last year's plants, from which I grew a plethora of plants over the last few weeks. At least 2 of those went into each planter and the generous remainder went into the garden in front of the hall. We noticed sunflowers, which we guess were put there by Kendra. The potentillas that Bunty and Michaelette planted years ago are thriving. Ours is a very flowersome, lovely community. Sigh.

For the last 3 hot days, Charlie, Ron, Ronald, Dave D., Bill, John M. and Kit worked on repairing the wharf. If you recall, it was damaged Easter Sunday morning 2007 by the shifting ice cover that was moving loose and on its own due to high winds and took out the end of the wharf. It was unsafe and unusable last summer. This year it is finally getting repaired. These things take time, mostly because it takes time to accumulate enough money to pay for the repairs. Better late than never. Thanks, guys. While all this was going on George & Russell raked the holes in the road down to the beach. Everyone was busy today in MM. What a great place to live!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:51 PM Location MMV | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
MARBLE MOUNTAIN

Cape Breton is a bonny isle with villages so quaint

And fishing pools and picnic spots galore,

But there's a place the dearest

And to my heart the nearest,

It's Marble Mountain on the Lakes Bras d'Or.

The mountain there slopes gently till it meets the sandy beach,

And the sea birds swiftly skim the waters o'er,

The days are long and lazy

And the evenings warm and hazy

In Marble Mountain on the Lakes Bras d'Or.

The people there are friendly and as Scottish as the kilt,

And they meet the stranger with an open door;

The common age is eighty

And the favourite name is Katy -

In Marble Mountain on the Lakes Bras d'Or.

The pleasures there are many, you may bike, or ride, or swim,

Or visit with the folks, or roam the shore;

The tea is always ready

And it's good and strong and heady,

In Marble Mountain on the Lakes Bras d'Or.

So when this term is ended and provincial tests are past,

And the happy, carefree (?) days of school are o'er,

You'll find me there square dancing

(I may even try romancing!)

In Marble Mountain on the Lakes Bras d'Or.

  JULIET CARSON, XII-2

    From The Brown and Gold Annual (MGBHS) 1953

Morrison Glace Bay High, Glace Bay, Nova Scotia



Note: This poem that Juliet White wrote when she was in high school was forwarded to me by Frances Oram. A lady at the Sydney Farmer's Market who went to school with Juliet copied it from a yearbook and gave it to Frances. I will print a copy to give to Russell as he doesn't frequent email. I hope you enjoy the sentiment. - Maggie

Posted by Maggie Davis At 1:44 PM Location MM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The United Church of Canada

Schedule of  Services

All services – 10:30am unless otherwise noted

July    6    Orangedale- Food Bank Sunday

13    St. Matthew’s

         20    Forbes

         27    Malagawatch Anniversary Service – 3pm

  Aug.   3    Orangedale – Food Bank Sunday

10        St. Matthew’s

17        St. Matthew’s Anniversary Service – 2:30pm

24        Forbes

31        Orangedale

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:55 AM Location River And Lakeside Pastoral Charge | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I have asked and been told by several people that a schedule for the churches will be provided to me to post here. Soon, soon one will show up on my doorstep and then I will post it here for the benefit of the churches and churchgoers. It is coming ... I think ...

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:52 AM Location MM Village Churches | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Last night I heard the owls hooting. They said hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoohoo (Great Horned); who-cooks-for-you-who-cooks-for-you-aw (Barred) and hooooooooo (a rare Great Gray? a Long-Eared?). That's three different kinds of owls, judging by the calls. One of them sounded like it was in a tree just outside of the bedroom, hooting enthusiastically and getting answered from down the hill. If you like owls, this is the place for you.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:56 PM Location Trees | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The current weather trend of each-day-and-night-warmer-than-the-previous continues. Yesterday's high was 84F/30C and last night's low was 59F/15C. This should make the plants very, very happy. That, in combination with extraordinarily long hours or sunlight should propel the garden into productivity, as long as there is regular, concurrent rain.

Yesterday I began the planting for the unofficial MM farmer's market at Hughie's old family farm up the mountain, first in the morning until noon when it got too hot, then late in the afternoon when it was cooler. I guess that makes me an unofficial farmer. My mother would be mortified! She is not around to see me. Good. My father would be proud, he was quite the farmer. He grew up on a waterfront farm on an island, where he fished and hunted to provide food. Hmmm. His cousin, Mary Chase, runs her own farmer's market on Aquidneck Island. I wonder if she started out this way, a few more plants each year. Last time I talked with her she, her son and another woman were farming a few acres, much of it devoted to rows of blackberry bushes. She is well into her 80's now and still very active. It must be that island living.

Hughie dropped by with some extra seeds for the project. He also plowed the field twice. Thank you, Hughie, this wouldn't happen without your generous contributions. Now for some rain to germinate the seeds before the birds eat them all.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:57 AM Location Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Today's Journal, Part 1:

This has turned out to be one of the best Summer Solstices ever. The solstice officially arrives at 8:59 p.m. tonight. The moon was full two nights ago so there will be plentiful light, especially if the cloud cover clears. Last night's low was 55F/12C, which means the low temperature has gained 1 nighttime degree per night for the last 4 nights. Summer is upon us.

"Midsummer is the time when everything is abundant and flourishing. Flowers smell their sweetest, colors are their most vibrant, trees are their greenest, berries are their sweetest, and faeries are their most playful, it is the time that nature's lavishness has reached a pinnacle point ..." - The Witches' Voice, an online network for Pagans, Heathens, Witches and Wiccans.

From William Shakespeare:

Be kind and courteous to this gentleman.

Hop in his walks and gambol in his eyes;

Feed him with apricocks and dewberries,

With purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries;

The honey-bags steal from the humblebees,

And for night tapers crop their waxen thighs,

And light them at the fiery glowworm's eyes,

To have my love to bed and to arise;

And pluck the wings from painted butterflies

To fan the moonbeams from his sleeping eyes.

A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act III, Scene I

Today's Journal, Part 2:

Read about the First Annual Ride The Lobster unicycle race on www.ridethelobster.com. When we found out that the race was going from Port Hawkesbury to the Celtic College through Sydney via Marble Mountain and Orangedale today we put the phone tree into action. There was a crowd in the village this morning to cheer all of them on. Bill and George strung up two big Welcome To Marble Mountain signs over the road. You should have seen the electric company bucket truck come to a quick stop when the driver realized they were going under a low banner! They made it with room to spare. Each and every one of the cyclists was cheered on through Marble Mountain. There was no shortage of photographers and videographers. We may just find our community on the news!

Look for the lobsters on the cyclists. Many of the cyclists were wearing stuffed plush lobsters. Just who thought up the name for this race? Or is this an Oh, duh! question? Anyway, the cyclists all expressed appreciation for our support and cheers. A guy was handing out unicycle.com bumper stickers and a religious fanatic unicyclist from Minneapolis was handing out his own shiny postcard-size religious tract. These religious nuts are everywhere. Thankfully only religion seems to propel these fanatics. Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone pursued their interests with such fervor? I'd be pushing Border Collies, home gardens and solar energy in everyone's face, Kit would be forcing IBM Redbooks on everyone and Russell would be pushing banking. Then we'd all be equally obnoxious. That would be fair but intolerable. Like I said, fanaticism is mostly for the religious, thankfully, it's just a matter of doing our level best to avoid those nuts. Dang, but they are everywhere. Sheesh.

Look at Ride The Lobster on www.youtube.com, here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug92O2IvkRw Search for Marble Mountain, just in case we're on there.

Today's Journal, Part 3:

This evening Thor Kristinsson will be playing at St. Mark's Church in Port Hawkesbury. The event is more than sold out, they are oversold by 40 tickets, which means seating folks in the balcony. He will be performing in a tux. The audience will probably dress up a little. Carolyn and I will dress up somewhat. I will wear my slinky black dress. Kit will be in upgraded business casual. Tasteful, sophisticated pastries will be served afterward. Read about Thor Kristinsson here. http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandid=60934 It will be a nearly perfect ending to a nearly perfect day!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:53 PM Location Here! | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
A few days ago Bill and I strategically placed 4 blue plastic tubs in the village - 1 at the wharf, 1 by the Hall and 2 at the entrance to the Lookoff (or Dump). Bill put chunks of styrofoam in the bottom to make them lighter and take up less dirt. Bill and I then shoveled fill dirt into the bins.

Fast forward a few days ... Fiona, Dave and I prepared the barrels by first sifting out the coltsfoot from the dirt onto a tarp, picked out all the visible coltsfoot, put it back in the planters, mixed the soil with slow-release fertilizer granules and topped it off with good potting soil mixed in before inserting the plants. (The coltsfoot goes in the trash - sealed.)

We planted a variety of tough, heat- and sun-tolerant plants in the barrels. I contributed marigold, dusty miller, cosmos (only $3.47 for the three packs at Wal-Mart), coreopsis, a tiny and promising ornamental grass, yarrow and nasturtium (contributed from my home garden). Fiona contributed a huge and impressive ornamental grass (dracaena) and voluptuous trailing ivy. There will no doubt be more to come soon, especially if more barrels become available.

Last year Shirley graciously and generously donated lovely hanging planters and it was absolutely charming to see them when we passed through the village. They were hung at the churches and on the sign at the top of the wharf road. I hope they show up again.

Our summer hire last year, a teenage girl who is a very good worker, did a marvelous job of landscaping the small plot in front of the Hall.

A summer resident renovated an old, run-down cottage in the village, gave it a very attractive coat of cheery yellow paint with white trim and landscaped it tastefully.

All this tlc and beauty is the kind of thing that sets a community apart. Could we hang a couple of planters from signs for Marble Mountain?

FYI - Bill may have more barrels to use as planters so if you want to plant a barrel, let Bill know.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location In The Village | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I'll be providing details in the fall.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:37 PM Location MM Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Here is something to consider when the local trail up Marble Mountain gets built.

About TrailLink

What Will I Find on TrailLink?

TrailLink has a database of more than 1,450 rail-trails around the country. We offer two-tiers of user-friendly information. Visit TrailLink for detailed trail descriptions, photos and reviews from users like you, and need-to-know details such as surface type, permitted uses and length. Or register to gain valuable access to trail maps, customized driving directions, and submit your own trail photos and reviews.

How Do I Use TrailLink?

You can perform basic searches for rail-trails by state and zipcode, or customize your search by specifying trail activities, surfaces, regions, length and more. View photos taken from the trail and read trail-user reviews to help you pick your trip, and register to submit your own pictures and opinions. After registering, you can also view and use our trail maps, plus plot your route to the trail with our customized directions feature.

I Love TrailLink! Can I Help Out?

TrailLink is a site for trail users and, in many ways, by the trail users. Registering to submit trail photos and reviews helps other trail users gauge whether a rail-trail will be right for them, and even helps trail managers around the country improve their trails.

You can also become a rail-trail mapping volunteer. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has currently and personally mapped one-third of the more than 1,450 rail-trails in the country, and made that wealth of information available to the public for free. If you love to use trails and have an interest in GPS mapping, you can be a part of helping us get all 13,851 miles of rail-trail mapped over the course of 2008. Learn more about how you can become a part of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and TrailLink family.

Have you found TrailLink helpful? If so, please consider supporting Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.

What is a Rail-Trail?

Rail-trails are multiuse public paths built along former railroad corridors. Most often flat or following a gentle grade, they are suited to walking, running, cycling, mountain biking, inline skating, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, and wheelchair use. Since the 1960s, Americans have created more than 13,000 miles of rail-trails throughout the country.

These extremely popular recreation and transportation corridors traverse urban, suburban, and rural landscapes. Many preserve historic landmarks, while others serve as wildlife conservation corridors, linking isolated parks and establishing greenways in developed areas. Rail-trails also stimulate local economies by boosting tourism and promoting trailside businesses.

What is a Rail-with-Trail?

A rail-with-trail is a public path that parallels a still-active rail line. Some run adjacent to high-speed, scheduled trains, often linking public transportation stations, while others follow tourist routes and slow-moving excursion trains. Many share an easement, separated from the rails by extensive fencing. There are more than 115 rails-with-trails in the US.

Trail Use

Rail-trails are popular routes for a range of uses, often making them busy places to play. Trail etiquette applies. If passing other trail users on your bicycle, always try to pass on the left with an audible warning such as a bike-mounted bell or a polite but firm, “Passing on your left!” For your safety and that of other trail users, keep children and pets from straying into oncoming trail traffic. Keep dogs leashed, and supervise children until they can demonstrate proper behavior.

Cyclists and inline skaters should wear helmets, reflective clothing, and other safety gear, as some trails involve hazardous road crossings. It’s also best to bring a flashlight or bike- or helmet-mounted light for tunnel passages or twilight excursions.

http://www.traillink.com/about.aspx

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:48 PM Location Hiking The Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Yesterday I planted a bed of carrots interspersed with radishes, a bed of Largo zucchini-type squash and a bed of beets (for Red Velvet Cake, a Southern specialty, ask Janet & Vicki - more on that later). Today, if the weather is cooperative, I will plant parsley and the Stir Fry Collection of 2 chois and two greens, which should all go in early in cool weather and cool soil. This year I will try something new - kohlrabi. (Thanks, Martin!)

This year my heart's desire is to have hellebore in my landscape garden. I have had such a difficult time finding hellebore plants that we finally ordered seeds on the internet. They are horrendously expensive at $10.00 for 4 seeds. Now I have to figure out how to make the seeds grow into plants. We did a web search for germination and growing instructions and came up with confusing, complicated and ambiguous directions: Soak or don't soak depending on the age of the seeds (they didn't come with a birth certificate), then put in fridge for 6 weeks or 8 weeks, then wait 6 months or 8 months, then plant in August or plant now ... sheesh! Just how, exactly, I should go about turning hellebore seeds into plants? When should I start the seeds? Now? August? How old are those seeds? I have far more questions than I have answers. I grow all kinds of things in my garden but I'm afraid I have unwittingly taken on a task of pure, expensive folly with this endeavor.

As you come down the driveway, you first see a barren landscape of the back of my house and a pitiful attempt at growing lawn on big, sharp, black chunks of gravel covered with sandy topsoil that is devoid of nutrients. It's unwelcoming and I want to change that but landscaping is not something at which I have expertise. We have started planting shrubs along the edge of the yard and Kit plans to put a free-standing trellis up for more vines and as a backing for more shrubs. The 3 beautyberry bushes should be arriving in the mail any day now. I would like to do inviting landscape beds and perhaps something to dress up the back of the house. Kit ordered 3 climbing roses for the bare expanse of house behind the guest room. I'd like to put a pyracantha along a stretch of bare wall for its gorgeous, brilliant, orange berries, if only I could find a pyracantha in Nova Scotia. Here's a landscape site I found yesterday. http://onmygreenthumb.blogspot.com/

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:57 AM Location In The Garden | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Funny thing about the weather forecast here, this spring it's always doom & gloom and cold but the reality has been warmer daytime highs and not so many frosts at night. In light of that reality, Kit planted some of the raised beds with tomatoes while I was out running errands. Just to make the growing environment a little more hospitable, the 9 tomato plants are covered in plastic cloches that are essentially mini greenhouses. The corners are held down with little tent pegs. The tomatoes are looking rather coddled, which they need to grow and produce. I planted onions in between the rows, right down the center. I'll tuck marigold seeds around the edges and basil, too, as they grow well together.

The sugar baby pumpkins are started in trays, as are big jack-o-lantern pumpkins and more nasturtiums in the potting shed, which is warmed by a heater. There are heated tiles on the shelves that are temperature-controlled by a thermostat that provides bottom heat for the seed trays.

Tomorrow the bought lettuce plants will go in as well as the bought pumpkin plants.

I am all into recycling. Tomorrow I intend to fill a pair of old crisper drawers from the refrigerator with potting soil, transplant nasturtium seedlings into them, then put the pair of them at the top of the driveway for planters. If I dig a depression in the ground, set them in and pile large chunk gravel around them, they may actually look like they belong there. Best of all, if someone steals them, who cares?

Cabbage, strawberries and shallots also went into the garden today. Tomorrow I'll spread the last of the seaweed and clean out the herb bed. The bed that was used for fennel last year will get flowers this summer. Fennel emits something that inhibits growth of other plants and I don't know if that effect will still occur a year later so I'll sacrifice a 34 cent pack of seeds to the fennel bed. Hopefully some flowers will grow in it. We will see. A few largo squash should fit in there as well. Manure, the squashes need more aged manure.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:50 PM Location Home Sweet Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
In case you have not seen it, here is the info:

2008 Summer Events Brochure

From: Russell White (russwhite@hotmail.com)

Sent: April 7, 2008 1:53:11 PM

To: marie.cameron@invernesscounty.ca

- Every Wednesday - Games at Marble Mountain Community Hall.All ages. 7.30 P.M.

For info. tel. 756-2233 or 756-9085.

- June 28th Annual Potluck Supper at Marble Mountain Community Hall 5.00 P.M. (Note: Same evening as L'Arche dinner & dance.)

For info. tel. 756-2233 or 756-9085.

- Aug.8- 10th Marble Mountain Wharf Preservation Society Annual Family Festival and Poker Run Weekend:

-- Friday Aug 8th - Games Night at Marble Mountain Community Hall All ages. 7.30 P.M.

-- Saturday Aug 9th - Potluck Supper Marble Mountain Community Hall 5.00 P.M.

-- Sunday Aug. 10th- Festival and Poker Run at the Marble Mountain Wharf 12.00 Noon to 5,00 P.M.

-- Info. for these events tel. 756-2233 or 756-9085

Thanks and if you require further information please call me at 756-2233 or email.

Russell White

Secty/Treas.- Marble mountain Wharf Preservation Society

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:42 PM Location The Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Yoga will not be held next week (May 27) and will resume either on the 3rd of June or the 10th of June. I'll post more later when I have the exact date.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:07 AM Location Marble Mountain Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Yesterday we saw several hummies, the first since the first sighting last week. This must be the second, permanent wave. The weather at the first sighting was horrible and we feared that it was too cold for the dainty little birds. After all, they come here from the jungles of Brazil. This year's weather stayed cold and miserable late into the season, those were not accommodating temperatures for the little birdies. Anyway, they are back and soon the swarms will swoop down on us.

According to the experts, global warming will disrupt normal weather patterns, not necessarily make spring warmer. Perhaps that is why temperatures are so cold late into the spring for the second year in a row.

Speaking of birds, the flicker is back and he's now performing daily concerts on the metal chimney. I am grateful that he has moved his percussive show to the afternoon matinee schedule. Every time he starts his pecking performance on metal, Lily runs outside to see who is doing it, which makes him fly away. All we've ever seen of him is his tail feathers.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:10 AM Location At The Feeders | Permalink | Comments (2)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This afternoon I saw the first hummingbird at the feeder, it was there & gone quickly. I may have been catching a glimpse of it for the last 2 days but whenever I went to the feeder to look, there was no bird. They are fast. Tomorrow's job will be to clean the feeders and make a big batch of nectar for the returning birdies. The mix will be a little stronger to fortify them after their long journey, perhaps 3:1. Its arrival is right on schedule, 2 days after Mother's Day.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:20 PM Location At The Feeders | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
A bonanza of trash and junk was collected from the roadside over the weekend during the Marble Mountain Village community trash pickup. Many people showed up and did a lot of work. I should list all the stuff that was pulled out of the roadside, you'd be amazed at the things that get tossed over the side of the road. Judging by where some of the stuff was found, there must be some trash hurlers with pretty good pitching arms. More later.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 1:54 PM Location Roadside | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The plant most often touted for its mosquito repellent qualities is a scented geranium that is rich in citronella. Citronella is an effective mosquito repellent but the mere presence of the plant has no impact on the number of mosquitoes that may be found in your yard. You must crush the leaves to release the citronella and rub them on yourself for any benefit.

There are other sources of the same compound in the herb world. Lemon thyme has been shown to be one of the best because the foliage contains higher amounts of citronella than does the scented geranium.

If you really want to reduce the mosquito population, patrol your home and immediate neighborhood for sources of standing water. Many mosquitoes, particularly the vexing Asian tiger mosquito, breed in surprisingly small and ephemeral pools of water. Check rain gutters on structures, pet bowls, pot saucers and trash receptacles. Often eliminating this standing water has more impact than anything else you can do. - Scott Aker WP May 2008

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This weekend is the scheduled cleanup date for Marble Mountain Road. Everyone who can help with the picking up of the winter's accumulation of trash is invited to pitch in. The assignments are broken into roughly 1 kilometer (2/3 mile) segments, starting at the Malagawatch border, as follows:

1. Calder's to Michealette's - Kit Davis

2. Michealette's to KLK sign - Charles Kehoe

3. KLK sign to Dave & Fiona's - John Morykot

4. Dave & Fiona's to MacAskill's Farm - Dave Dauphinee

5. MacAskill's to William MacInnis Lane - Wendy MacDonald

6. Wharf Road to Red Gate (Zimmerman's) - Linda Campbell

7. Red Gates to Billy Hull's - Lynn Zimmerman

8. Billy Hull's to Lime Hill sign - Carolyn Chant

9. Lime Hill sign to cemetery - Tom McCann

10. Wharf Road - Ian MacDonald

11. Look-off - Bill Legge

Please supply your own bags, leave recyclables at the lookoff (to be picked up by Bill Legge) and place other trash at the roadside with your garbage.
I received the list as you see it so if you have questions, please ask Charlie or Bill. This will give us the opportunity to enjoy a piece of our community that we don't normally see. I'll bring out my little, red, stake-side wagon and a small pile of hefty bags for the job. Be there or be square!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location Roadside Between Malagawatch and Lime Hill | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Last night we had a wonderful dinner with the lady in search of her ancestry, Diane, and her friend from Halifax, Judy. This is her ancestral community, not mine, so I did what I could to introduce her to people who might be related to her and to give her the opportunity to see the places where her family lived and worshipped. At the dinner were Hugh MacDonald, owner of the cottage where they stayed, Janet Bois, minister, and Kit and myself. The food was marvelous and the stories flowed with the wine. It was a very entertaining evening and I think we all enjoyed it.

Diane went to the usual Sunday morning service, this week in Orangedale, and Judy decided to go with her, personal reservations about conflicting doctrine notwithstanding. After the service, people from the community gathered for a brunch/lunch meet & greet that was pleasant and accomplished its purpose of introducing Diane to her relatives and the community. Gracious as always, people in the community stepped up and helped pull off the event seamlessly with an enticing array of goodies. Did I ever mention that we "do food" here in Marble Mountain? Again, wine and stories flowed. A total of 11 people showed up.

Later in the afternoon, after guests had gone, Diane and I toured the Lime Hill Cemetery where she took photos of the gravestones of her ancestors. On the way back we saw Jimmy Carson, who graciously took us on a tour of his waterfront, then guided us to the gravestones in the part of the cemetery that we had missed. I'm so glad he knew it was there and was willing to play tour guide. He is incredibly well-informed, possible more so than anyone else here. That evening he joined the rest of us for a scrumptious dinner of leftovers, where he was a most gracious and companionable supper guest.

Diane and Judy are both entertaining and generous people. It was a pleasure to get to know them.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location Malagawatch | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We will have two extremely talented and accomplished women showing up here in a couple of weeks, Diane Farris and Judy Savoy.

Diane has a gallery in Vancouver. She is a contemporary art dealer who loves the pipes, fiddle, and anything Scottish.

Judy is a comedic performer, residing in Halifax. I like that she is working toward eradicating poverty.

If you haven't been to their websites yet, here are the links. http://www.dianefarrisgallery.com/ http://judysavoy.com/home/index.php

For those of you who are wondering why they have chosen Marble Mountain, Diane's mother was born here and went to school in the little schoolhouse that has been turned into a museum (now closed due to structural deterioration). She longs to see her mother’s original home.

I think we should organize a meet & greet for the entire community, if possible, maybe on Sunday after service. What about having a nice brunch, if the ladies like the idea? Anyone from Marble Mountain and Orangedale who would like to meet Diane, since her family has roots in both communities, is welcome to join the brunch. Plus, Diane assures me that she can be slightly amusing. Judy would also be very enjoyable company, no doubt.

I hope I have the details right. Diane's mother was named Emily MacNeil, born Dec 4, 1915; her father was Roderick MacKenzie from Orangedale, his mother was Jesse MacNeil; and her mother's family left here in the late 20's. If you would like to meet Diane or Judy, you are welcome to join us. (Diane, please add any correction or additional info that's needed. Thanks!)

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:23 AM Location Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Pyracantha - has brilliant orange berries (and thorns)

Beautyberry - has clusters of small, purple-indigo berries

Caryopteris - good blue border plant, blooms late summer, attracts butterflies

Holly, male & female - bright red berries on female, glossy, pointed leaves that are good in holiday arrangements

Juniper - low ground cover with little, dull blue berries

Elderberry - make wine, duh! -- good for curing colds

Peach tree - if it would grow here

Blueberry - should thrive in our acid soil

Cranberry - indispensable in fall & winter dishes

Hellebore (Lenten rose) - blooms in late winter/early spring and grows in light shade

Cherry, dwarf or weeping - flowering too beautiful to pass up

Quince tree - an old-fashion fruit for jams

Magnolia - gorgeous, creamy flowers and shiny, leathery leaves that are good in wreaths What is missing that I should consider a must-have in the garden? What plant do you consider indispensible in your landscaping?

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:11 PM Location The Yard | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Kit just came running into the house to get towels to mop up the floor in the closet in the shed, it's where the seasonal junk is stored. A carboy full of red wine broke and there is a deep puddle in there, not to mention all the lost excellent wine. He was lifting an empty carboy and managed to ligfhtly tap a full carboy with it and that's all it took - whoosh!! The red wine floodgates opened.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:03 AM Location Shed | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
You may have noticed that the days are getting longer - morning comes earlier and evening ends later at this time of year. Little tufts of green grass are showing as the snow melts away in the intermittent thaws that are typical of late winter. People are poring over gardening magazines and preparing garden plots with thick coverings of newspaper before the weeds have a chance to come up and take over. The sap in the sugar maples is flowing and the creative juices are bubbling up in the inhabitants of the community.

Besides planning for gardens and maple syrup, we are also planning activities for the summer season. Last year a few of us talked about having a Repertory Theater to entertain both locals and tourists. It was suggested that there are enough old stories in this community to keep the Revue performing all summer long. No Shakespeare for us, his fiction won’t be needed. Let’s get together and put these stories to paper. Who will be in our repertory company? Calling all volunteers! Would this be a cattle call? People to work on the set and behind the scenes will also be needed.

There are a couple of locations that should suffice for a stage. One is the old quarry on Marble Mountain, which would require getting permission from whoever owns it. The other location is Hughie’s quarry up behind his house. He’s already game for this, which means it would be in Malagawatch. There would be musical entertainment as well and I like the idea of an open mike. It would be nice to kick off the new amphitheater with Carlos Santana. If he’s too booked, we have no shortage of terrific local talent to christen the stage. When will Bruce Guthro be in the area? According to his schedule, he’s out of the country from late March until late July. Looks like we’ll have to get someone else to christen our theater. How about a fiddler? That would be best, yes? Danick Clavel Terrio and Michelle Stevens have great energy!

To round out the concept, food and drink will be provided. I suppose that means porta-potty rentals and place settings & linens and trash cans. We would provide traditional Marble Mountain - Cape Breton cuisine in quantity, which means keep it simple. The menu would include chowder, porridge bread, oatcakes or biscuits, lobster and other shellfish in season and desserts with local berries, fruits and rhubarb, perhaps old-fashion cobbler. Gingerbread is a timeless favorite and my family tradition is to serve it with lemon sauce. For drinks, cold, fresh mountain water, hot tea and byob.

Juice my brain and this is what flows out: I have decided to have a MM Produce Stand this summer. Hughie has agreed to let me use his plowed field to grow produce as my little plot is too small to grow more than we can consume at home. The stand will be open Friday and Saturday and after church on the Sundays services are held in MM, from 9:00 – 11:00. After that, it gets too hot and the produce will spoil. I’d open it more days but I doubt there’d be that much business and I wouldn’t want to wear out my assistants. In the interest of not sitting out there all alone, I will ask the local teens if they would be interested in sharing the space with me so they can earn a few dollars. It has been suggested that perhaps I could apply for and hopefully receive a grant to pay the kids for their work, which would be nice. This is an excellent way to share the overabundance of produce that the garden sometimes produces. Anyone who wants to sell something at this stand would be welcome to do so (Yvonne, your knitting? Frances, your recipe boxes, candy and cards? Fiona, your Tupperware?) We would need to put up the screen tent and have coolers for storing the produce. If there is enough interest, we could offer tea & coffee and the occasional bake sale. I’d like to donate all profits to the new Hall that is so desperately needed here.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 3:19 PM Location Marble Mountain and Malagawatch | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The first person we know who may have gotten what is possibly the bona fide flu is a gentleman from Seaside who was in Sydney for a meeting last week. I don’t know exactly where he lives but he was too sick to attend meetings or drive home and he spent a few days in a hotel bed feeling pretty awful. I think he’s home now. There’s some suspicion he got food poisoning from a lunch purchased at a little shop on the road but that’s difficult to prove. He did say that he had vomiting and diarrhea, which is not typical for the actual flu. Pepto Bismol should have fixed him right up.

At this time of year our fresh produce comes from countries south of the border, that's the US-Mexico border. A lot of South American countries have lower sanitation standards than we have and will occasionally use contaminated water on the crops. Sometimes people will say that they got the runs from too much fresh fruits & veggies in the early spring but the reality is that they've consumed tainted food. How thoroughly do you wash your fresh produce, even the stuff that comes pre-washed? Do you ever think of who picks your food? Migrant farm workers. When they are out in the field, where do they go when they need to "go"? Do they wash their hands afterward, is hot & cold running water and soap provided to them? What do you think? Food for thought. It may be garish pink and taste strongly of wintergreen but Pepto Bismol is great stuff when you've eaten tainted produce.

I ran the corporate flu shot program at the company (SBD in the DC metro region) for approximately 10 years so I was conscientious about getting my “what is the flu” facts straight. As it turns out, a lot of what people call the flu is actually intestinal intruder or a highly unpleasant cold that makes them miserable. A cold can take a day or two to fully develop symptoms; real flu tends to come on suddenly, does not usually involve vomiting & diarrhea or coughing, is characterized by exhaustion & weakness, headache, high fever, chills and body aches. Flu makes you feel a whole lot worse than a cold. With a cold you are able to get up and function if you push yourself, you simply don't feel like doing it. The flu will make you too weak to function and you may need help simply getting up to go to the bathroom. Honey & lemon, honey & lemon tea, hot toddy, echinacea, edlerberry and raspberry, lots of fluids.

Saturday afternoon Carolyn & George went to a 90th birthday open house in West Bay for Joanne and they stayed the afternoon. After they returned, Carolyn said she felt tired and decided to take a nap. That’s when the flu hit her. She is still in bed with fever, chills, body aches and a loss of appetite. I hope she’s well by the party Saturday night. It’s her 60th birthday party and George is putting it on for her. Kit and I went to the Bruce Guthro concert with them Friday night, I hope she wasn’t contagious then. I’ve read that flu & cold viruses are contagious before we know we have them. Uh-oh.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 1:41 PM Location Everywhere | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Marion, our yoga instructor, is on a month-long trip to Germany with her children to visit her family. While she is away, we yogaphiles decided that we would continue to meet for yoga classes and see how it goes with volunteer amateurs guiding the class. Last night Kit agreed to guide us through our moves. He has informed me repetedly that he has done yoga since he was a boy and knows it well. Last night he got the opportunity to show his yogi stuff.

Before we left the house he rummaged through the cd's we had in storage to find something suitably meditational. We didn't find anything with the koto nor any Donovan Leach cuts so he settled on Vivaldi. Vivaldi is lovely and relaxing, though not exactly what you'd call yoga genre. First we did a range-of-motion warmup, then Kit read a sequence of poses from a yoga magazine. The magazine was not thorough in its descriptions and left too much interpretation to the reader.

As you probably know, a yoga program generally flows from one position to the next and focuses on a particular thought or chakra. This is where expertise comes into play. Kit said it's not as easy to do as he thought it would be. I believe he's already planning next week's instruction and will go into class armed with his own selection of poses.

We completed the class in what might be record time, Kit talks fast. When it was finished, Linda asked Kit if he was going to close the class with a guided meditation like Marion does. Kit agreed. He had us relax our joints and turn our focus inward. He then led us out onto the lake and had unidentified wiggly things tickling our undersides, which gave Helen an ick sensation. She said she's been out in that lake and she knows that there are all kinds of "things" in the lake that could brush up against you. I might just do a web search for a guided meditation for next week.

On the one hand, it will be nice to have Marion back. On the other hand, we never laughed so hard in her class as we did last night.

I have a yoga book but I can't seem to find it at the present time. Hopefully it will turn up soon.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:43 PM Location MM Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
While so many people from the community were present at Tuesday's meeting, I took the opportunity to make a list of birthdays, only the date, not the year. We don't want to get uncomfortably personal. A few people didn't want to reveal their birthdates, that's ok, they can keep it to themselves if they want to but I doubt it would be Top Secret for long. A few people asked me if I was planning to put the birthday list on this Journal, which I wasn't, it didn't seem to me to be the kind of thing people would want to see here. Then I thought that maybe I was wrong. Do you want to see people's birthdates listed here? If so, why? Just curious. (The birthdays of the reticent would have to be deleted before publishing.) Please send me your birthdate if I missed it and you want to be included on the list.

It would be nice if we could hold a monthly Birthday Event, perhaps a cover-all-purposes dinner at the culinary school once a month. Something different? What do you think? Your ideas, please share them with us here. Nothing at all? Nah. After all, it's the Marble Mountain Mantra: any excuse for a party.

While I'm at it, what would you like to see here that has been overlooked? I try to keep readers abreast of happenings and issues in MM since there is no community newsletter but there may be things that I have overlooked. Suggestions? Caveat: I try to respect privacy and I don't take any sides so please don't try to get me to turn this into a personal forum or use it to spread gossip, I draw the line at that.

On a news note, the Nature & Garden Club has been on winter hiatus but meetings and activities should be resuming soon, now that we are heading toward spring. What would you like to see the North Mountain Nature And Garden Club do for an activity? My heart's desire is to have hellebores for my garden. Any plant that will bloom in winter - spring has a home in my garden. Btw, they are also known as Lenten Rose, though they are not roses. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellebore If anyone else is interested in them we can see if a "bulk" purchase can be made to bring the cost down.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:42 PM Location MM Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We've been home since Monday evening. It took a couple of days to recuperate. Getting back into the swing of things help. Tuesday evening we had yoga in the hall. Marion pushed us a little further than she had before. Now I see that she has a progressive plan for our classes so it's best not to miss any. The meditiation was a little deeper as well. We have one more week before Marion leaves for Germany. She agreed to resume our classes when she returns at the end of the month. Classes will likely resume the first Tuesday of April - April Fool's Day! Then there was Games Night on Wednesday, which was lightly attended due to icy weather. We drove home very slowly.

I thought Kit would be at least slightly affected by his father's passing but he has gotten back into action like nothing happened. The experience seems to have not fazed him in the least. Those Davises are certainly a resilient bunch.

Today I ran an errand in the car. On the way back, I parked at the top of the driveway to get the newspaper. As soon as I started to step out of the car it started sliding downhill on the diagonal - in park. The snowbank stopped it before it got too far. I had a very slippery few steps to the snowbak on the other side, hanging onto the door handle and the wheel well to keep upright. Up the driveway I went, in the snowbank and back. The car steered easily and safely back down the driveway. Phew! this is what happens when the temperature goes slightly above freezing - a layer of water develops on the surface of the ice. Shoe grippers would be a good idea, something like golf or football cleats.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:19 AM Location Home Sweet Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Yoga was lovely Tuesday night. We pushed a little farther this time, which felt good. Marion is always very careful to make sure our moves and positions are safe. No one should get hurt in a yoga class, though some people felt the stretch the next day, which is probably good for those of us who are more sedentary.

The latest National Geographic arrived in the mail eralier that day . In it is a gorgeous Zen haiku pictorial of nature scenes. It was so gorgeous and serene that I brought it in to show the class. Everyone agreed that there is no need to go to Japan to see such beauty, one need only walk up North Mountain. So very true.

Marion always closes the classes with a guided meditation. This time she guided us through a lovely hike up the path on North Mountain. How perfect.

On another note,

Punxsutawney Phil Sees His Shadow

Rodent predicts six more weeks of winter at Groundhog Day ceremony

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. - Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Saturday, leading the groundhog to forecast six more weeks of winter.

The rodent was pulled from his stump by members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club Inner Circle, top-hat- and tuxedo-wearing businessmen who carry out the tradition.

Each Feb. 2, thousands of people descend on Punxsutawney, a town of about 6,100 people some 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, to celebrate what had essentially been a German superstition.

The belief is that if a hibernating animal cast a shadow on Feb. 2 _ the

Christian holiday of Candlemas _ winter would last another six weeks. If no shadow was seen, legend said spring would come early.

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22963448/

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:16 AM Location The MM Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Due to a gathering of folks from and near MM at the Culinary School in PH this evening, Games Night will not be held today. Games Night will resume its usual schedule next week. This is a one-time-only event in which we are celebrating January birthday's, of which there are many, with a dinner out.

Think you have a good vocabulary? Try this: http://www.freerice.com/index.php

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:54 AM Location Not In The Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Ooh boy, it' is cold, the coldest temperatures we've had so far this winter - it is currently 8 F / -8C, which is a far sight warmer than when I went to bed last night, ath which time the thermometer read -1 F. This kind of cold happens when we have perfectly clear skies. The cove is frozen over and the lake is freezing around the edges at the beach and wharf. Fortunately the air is still so it doesn't feel so cold.

We are nearly at the halfway point through winter, which is February 6, though Groundhog Day is February 2, probably someone elses's version of midwinter. To celebrate reaching midwinter and break up the doldrums, we shall hold a party in the MM hall on the 2nd, though so closely following Bunty's passing may change things. The complication is that Lent begins on February 6, which is next Wednesday and some people won't party during Lent. We'll figure this out eventually.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:17 AM Location Black's Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Yoga has come to Marble Mountain! Our first class was the day before yesterday, 7:00 pm - 8:15 pm in the hall. The Inaugural Yoga Class was great! Marion guided us through gentle movements, poses and meditations, with Japanese koto music playing gently in the background. No one was sore the next day. My biggest surprise is the overwhelming support and participation. Most of the people told me they used to do yoga - a total surprise! There were 15 people in attendance and we expect several more from here on in. All in all, it seems to be getting a great reception in the community.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 3:52 PM Location MM Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
A couple of weeks ago we went to dinner with another couple at the Mescalero Restaurant in the Membertou Reserve. We were pleased with the experience and we would go there again.

I was curious about the name Mescalero so I did a google search and found the following on Wikipedia... "Mescalero (or Mescalero Apache) is a Native American tribe of Southern Athabaskan heritage currently living on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation in southcentral New Mexico. The Mescaleros opened their doors to other Apache bands, the Chiricahua who were imprisoned at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and the Lipan Apaches . The Reorganization Act of 1936 consolidated the tribes onto the reservation."

I have to wonder how the MicMac in Sydney decided on this for the name of the restaurant? What do you suppose was the thought process behind it? Just curious, thought I'd toss this food-for-thought out there for conversation. A northeast restaurant named for a southwest tribe. ok. Not being critical, just curious. If you have any clues as to why, please let me know. - M

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:29 AM Location | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Kripalu - Hatha

When:         15 January,  6 weeks

Time:          7:00 pm—8:15 pm

Location:       Marble Mountain Hall

Cost:            $36.00 / $2.00 donation per class for hall use

Equipment:  Bring A Mat

Note: You can make a yoga mat by purchasing a length of non-skid carpet liner. Non-skid carpet liner has a waffle-like texture and it is slightly spongy, which will protect your back from the hard, wooden floor.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location MM Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We're having a New Year's Eve party in the hall tonight. It's going to start out as a potluck dinner, for which I'm making a salad that includes blackeyed peas for luck. Eventually there may be card games & board games, there will be music and people will perhaps dance and whoop it up in general. Late in the evening we'll have hors d'oeuvres and most likely desserts. At midnight we'll put on funny hats and make noise with noisemakers and light off firecrackers. Then maybe dance some more. You know, the usual stuff.

We're expecting 23 people. It will be a sit down dinner with tablecloths, lovely bone china and actual wine glasses (but no water glasses, we'll have to use plastic cold drink cups). Ooh la la! It's snowing and the forecast is for an accumulation of 3-8 cm of snow before turning to rain. This evening the temperature will dip below freezing, which should make everything very slippery. Good thing we don't have far to go, it's only 2 miles to the hall. Oh well, it makes me wonder if we should practice falling, just in case. "I'm dreaming of a white New Year's .. la la la te da te da...." The weatherman is forecasting a warmup starting next weekend. We shall see if he's right.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:44 PM Location Marble Mountain Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
New Year's Eve 2007-2008 Celebration In Marble Mountain

The 2007-2008 New Year's Eve Party in the Marble Mountain Hall will start at 7:00 pm and it will be a potluck. If you are one of the invitees, please bring a dish to share. Please do not bring anyone from outside the invitee list. I have been informed that if we open the party to those who are not on the invitee list, it opens us up to inspection by authorities and we don't want our party busted, which would end all such events in the hall until the new hall is built. If you want to be in the party, email or call someone here and get put on the list.

Last week at Games Night (or was it at the xmas party at the Chant's?) a decision was made that this year's New Year's Eve Party would start an hour later, at 7 instead of 6, and hors d'oeuvres would be offered instead of the potluck meal event we had last year. However, at Games Night last night that decision was overturned in favor of a potluck, like we had last year, at 7:00 pm.

To refresh your memory, last year's party started at 6:00 pm and went until the wee hours of the first day of '07. 7:00 pm isn't too late for dinner for most of us. Some people think that starting at 6:00 pm was too long for a party and that a potluck was too much food or work or too much dishwashing for a hall with a limited kitchen facility, if I have the details correct. Maybe all of the above. Me, I'm happy with whatever more pickier people want to do. As long as we have some kind of festive gathering, I'm happy. Just apprise me of the details and we'll take it from there. My plan is to bring a blackeyed pea dish for luck and a hot apple spice tea punch.

On another, news-related note, Benazir Bhutto died a few minutes ago, the result of a gunshot to the neck immediately following a suicide attack. All hell is going to break loose now. Any peaceable country would have done what is necessary to protect her. This does not bode well for Pakistan.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location MM Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Our first significant snow, other than flurries, arrived overnight, starting in the evening yesterday with mere flurries, then falling in earnest this afternoon. Wow, it is truly pretty. As much as I dread the onset of winter this year, a frosting of fluffy snow is something beautiful to see. Some people would say that proves there's a god, I say it proves that H2O droplets freeze into randomly symmetrical 6-sided unique patterns that humans find visually attractive.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 3:19 PM Location MM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Noel may have left the area but its effects continue. At games night last night I heard stories of continuing and recurring power outages in River Denys, Big Harbor Island and Militia Point. It's an inconvenience, for sure, to be without power in the home but far worse for businesses. MacLeod Resources wasn't able to operate its marble mine and employees were without work until the power supply was resumed, assuming it is now operational. I haven't heard anything more about it in a couple of days.

The local community has precious few resources for employment and putting any of them out of business for even a few days hurts. Is NSP taking this responsibility seriously enough?

The church services were cancelled Sunday but that's not so significant an issue. The scheduled service was going to be a play anyway, not anything serious, though religion shouldn't be taken seriously to begin with. That being said, some people take it extremely seriously, to the point of being humorless. Recently a few people were talking politics and discussing campaigning styles. It was mentioned that a candidate in NY was religion-free and campaigning as "the candidate without a prayer", which was said in humor, no insult intended. A particularly religious person responded to that with one word - "Sad". Like I said, religion makes some people humorless. Or is it the other way around - humorless people flock to religion? Ah well, makes me glad to be a heathen. It gives me more to laugh about and there's too little mirth in the world.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location In the 'hood | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We are back to having lots of wind, lots of rain and relatively warm temperatures, in the 50's F / 11 C. It feels like Noel has returned. I'm sure the bitter, frigid weather will be here shortly but right now I'm enjoying not having to dress in many layers of wool every time I venture outdoors. The boats will have to come onshore for the cold season soon.

The garden is nearly closed down, except for the vegetables that survive in the cold like carrots, parsnips, various herbs, salad greens under the cold frame and cooking greens. The last of the peppers and green tomatoes have been gathered up and they are chopped, salted and ready to season & bottle. The funky-looking yet still nutritious vegetables that are too ugly for our dinner table have become dog food. We Yankees are a frugal lot. I believe I have come full circle back to the ways of my childhood with all the canned and preserved foods.

Growing up, if we wanted jelly or jam, we took a jar of home-made preserves out of the wooden cupboard in the cellar that my grandfather had built many years previous. We ate home-canned tomatoes several day per week. Piccalilli, chow-chow or relish was often on the table.

Our summers were spent picking the huckleberries or blueberries and wild concord grapes that are ubiquitous in New England and we knew where to find the rhubarb that still grew in an open field that once must have been the site of an old farmhouse. A nearby field was full of old jonquils and we would trudge through it to bring home handfuls of flowers for the kitchen. That would promptly get us a good scrubbing with yellow laundry soap to wash the poison ivy sap off our skin. It worked, we never were bothered with poison ivy rashes.

One of my grandmother's favorite jams was quince, I don't remember where she got the fruit. Also crabapple and Damson plum. Blueberry-picking provided nearly instant reward with a bowl of luscious slump later in the day. (For those of you unlucky people who have never been treated to blueberry slump, slump is stewed, slightly sweetened fruit with dumplings cooked in it. The same dish has a couple of other names, depending on where you are standing. Grunt is pretty much the same thing and buckle is similar.) It was convenient having all that good food in the cellar but the first two servings of jelly or jam out of the jar came with tiny fragments of paraffin in it. Small price to pay.

I remember many days spent with the extended family working together to prepare vegetables for putting up. A typical lunch for Grandma was a bread & butter sandwich with pickled hot peppers in it. This must be how bread & butter pickles got their name. Often we'd have fresh baked bread, still warm from the oven, with jam or honey on it. This is what life is like with necessarily frugal people who raised a large family through the depression. Those of you who know me well know that I make bread from time to time and I have a loaf in the kitchen now that was baked yesterday. Breadmaking wasn't something I learned as a novelty, I grew up on it.

Though such foods were a vital necessity in years gone by and not so important today, now that we have big grocery stores, those flavors still have their appeal and they add a certain flair to life itself. Lately, I notice recipes for old-timey foods in surprisingly highbrow publications such as Food & Wine magazine and in the Washington Post food section, which caters to city folk in the DC metro region.

I think we're returning to the back-to-the-land movement of the 60's and early 70's. Now it's called being a locavore. If you'd like to know more about it, read a copy of The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

This is probably one of the more boring entries I've made in the journal to date. I'll try to find a few jokes or funny stories to share with you in the future.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 2:03 PM Location Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Until further notice, games night will be held every Wednesday evening. All are welcome. A $2.00 donation to offset the expense of the hall is requested but not required.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:40 AM Location Marble Mountain Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Sigh. No one in the neighborhood had more than one trick-or-treater (Angela Eggenberger) and some people had no trick-or-treaters, not even Wendy, I've been told. Wendy was against holding a MM Halloween party because she wanted to see the kids in their costumes, which she has always done in the past. The children are all growing up and there is no new wave of children to take their place.

Next year let's have a party that's kid-friendly, even if only to make ourselves feel better and to avoid the much-ado-about-nothing in future years that we had this year. Halloween without kids is very sad indeed.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location In The 'hood | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Birgit and Harald held an open house at The Smokehouse today from noon - 2. We arrived shortly after 1 and found a large crowd already in attendance. Immediately upon arriving we approached Harald and Birgit to offer our sympathy and support. They didn't say much, they seemed very upset and not exactly distraught but definitely affected by Uta's sudden and unexpected passing.

There was plenty of food - sandwiches, squares, tea and coffee, cookies, cake and Uta's famous cheesecake. Mary must have been baking for days to produce all that cheesecake.

I feel for those two people, they are truly suffering. I only wish there were some way to help them get through it, though I realize that each person has to cope in his or her own way. Kit and I offered our neighborly support and I hope they take us up on our offer for companionship or assistance. They don't know what they are going to do in the future, the boat will be going up for sale and they plan to remain in Cape Breton, they are clutching at ideas right now. As the old saying goes, time will heal their wound.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 2:31 PM Location Malagawatch | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Every year we go to A Touch Of The Irish http://www.celtic-colours.com/queries/show_general.php?show_id=15 in Lower River Inhabitants both because it's one of the closest of the concerts and also because that's our background, Irish music. Ron Hynes did a great job of telling his stories, that's his gift. He drew us in, held our attention and made us laugh. He told an elaborate story of NY relatives visiting in NFLD and behaving badly, not sure what the point was there, perhaps people in the USA have such a dreadful reputation due to what's going on in the mideast that he thought he'd find an anecdote to elaborate on that point. He's a gifted storyteller and I'd go to one of his performances again.

Fiona & Ciarán MacGillivray performed both together and individually. They are a brother-sister team and both are enormously talented. Though Fiona's only 19, she has tremendous power in her voice, so much so that at one point I had to cover my ears, the intensity and loudness was causing pain. I suspect that's where the sound guy should have taken over. Right? I don't know much about what a sound guy does. Ciarán, older of the two by two years, did a brilliant solo performance and I predict that he will go far. He did a social conscience song about war that evoked memories of singer-songwriters like Phil Ochs and Pete Seeger and David Crosby. That's a second performer offering statements in song about Americans and the political situation created by the leader of the USA.

In March of 1997 we saw Karan Casey in the National Geographic auditorium in D.C. when she was very young, perhaps 19, performing as a singer for Solas, which had just gained international fame. She doesn't have as much fire as she had then, being an older & wiser married (1 month) lady now, but she has a maturity and mellowness that makes up for it. She still can sing circles around the rest of us. Again, a statement about the political mess the US has gotten itself into, she referred to the President as "that madman" down below Canada.

Echoes of the 60's. I didn't think I'd see that kind of thing again in my lifetime. Maybe these performers should instead disparage the people who voted untrustworthy Bush & his administration into power.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location Riverdale Community Center, Lower River Inhabitants | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Everything else remains the same - same games, same cast of characters, same coffee & tea with whatever snacks people bring.

Halloween will fall on a Wednesday this year. Shall we hold Games Night on Wednesday, 10/31, for Halloween and make it spooky fun? I'll dress up if you will. We can make it special, dress up the hall and have spooky games and snacks for the children, old and young. A thought - Should we make it a potluck dinner and start at 5:00 or 6:00? Tell me what you think and offer other ideas if you like. We're open to suggestions.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location Marble Mountain Hall | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Woo hoo, what a party! Russell generously opened his home to host an appreciation bbq for the volunteers who work to make the Annual Marble Mountain Day a success, as well as all the other services they perform throughout the year. You should have seen the food - what a spread! You'd be hard put to find a better meal anywhere in Cape Breton for any amount of money. There were fantastic bbq steaks cooked on the grill by Tom, with Kit acting as sous chef. There was a wonderful hot potato dish by Vickie, a red and green cole slaw dish, a broccoli salad, warm kale salad, pasta, tossed salad, melon balls in lemon balm and fresh biscuits sent to us by Pauline, who is known as the best biscuit maker from Port Hawkesbury to Whycocomagh, and that's saying a lot because all of the women here some of the men are good cooks. After we burned off calories singing, dancing and crying at sentimental songs, out came no fewr than 5 desserts. I'm sure I forgot something, there was too much to remember it all, and my apologies to those I overlooked. It was a phenomenal feast!

The party started out sociably enough with two couples from outside the community, politicians (Red Eddie was one) and their wives, who stayed long enough to enjoy the excellent meal and be sociable. After they left, things got even better.

Following the feast, the party started out with an extensive collection of Johnny Cash songs on tapes & cd's, compliments of George and Russell. There was plenty of singing-along with the old, familiar songs, with beer bottle microphones. Carolyn started the festivities by dancing on the picnic tables - don't get too excited, she kept all her clothes on. Michealette and Jean performed a Cash song and then danced with Beatrice. There were air harmonicas (Vickie) and table piano's (again Vickie) and air guitar and lip syncing (singing is not our strong suit). Tom performed an excellent rendition of ... hmmm, must have been all the wine. Eventually we ran out of Cash and moved on to the local music from out of West Bay. We sang along with some of those and that's pretty much when the dancing started. Wendy dragged Kit up to dance, then I took a spin with Kit. Later, Russell got up and danced with Beatrice and a couple of other women, then I got a turn to cut the rug with him. There were stories galore and jokes until we laughed so hard we couldn't bear it. I woke up hoarse and with a sore throat and headache the next morning from laughing and yelling over the performers. Actually, I had only 2 half-glasses of wine, mostly I drank water so I can't claim to have had a hangover headache.

The wine flowed freely, at least until 11:30 when the bottle was empty. That's when a reknowned party hearty attendee opened the last bottle. Russell was having great time. No matter what we asked him he said Yes! Great idea! I wonder how much he regretted the next morning. About that time Beatrice said she wanted us all to leave so she and Russell could have some alone time. Everyone laughed at that, especially since Russell was looking well-partied by then. Not too many people made it to church in the morning.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location Up The Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I just got back from taking the pooches for their daily walk and this time I chose Marble Mountain Beach. Because the road to the beach is unnervingly steep, I park at the wharf and walk over to the MM beach. Today I wasn't able to get to the beach past MacMillan's due to erosion from recent rains. The first creek that I came across has swelled and dug a deep bed into the beach so that I would have gotten wet up to my knees to cross it. I didn't want to do that so the dogs and I played Splash! with rocks near the wharf for a while, then we left and came back home. On the way back up to the road I ran into Russell and he claims that those deeply dug spots will fill back in by spring with tide & wind action. Next spring we'll see if he is right. I thought that was what Charlie & Harold Martel fixed when they spread fresh gravel on the beach in the spring year after year. Is that not right?

Posted by Maggie Davis At 3:21 PM Location Marble Mountain Beach | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Last night's garden and nature club meeting was held at the Zimmerman residence. After covering the business at hand, we were treated to a slide presentation of Gail's metalwork. Gail's pieces are more than metalworks, they are pieces of art, some of them intriguing, others endearing, even amusing. She is quite a talented lady and I wish I had pics to show you here. I'll see if she has a website to share with you.

We found out that Joanne Lewis, one of the members of Autumn Joy garden club out of St. Peter's, had her house burn down a couple of weeks ago. She and her husband lost everything. They are retired so I'm sure that they lost a lifetime of irreplaceable items of tremendous personal value and starting over will be difficult for them. We plan to join in Autumn Joy's effort to help them with their household items, hopefully soon. What a tragedy.

We decided to put flyers in local post offices and community halls to invite people from nearby communities to join our meetings. The invitation is extended to both men and women and we intend to have activities that appeal to men, too.

Here are a couple of established, reliable, trustworthy sites that provide email newsletters: www.markcullen.com and www.organicgardening.com I am signed up with both of them.

Next meeting: Monday evening, October 15 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm at Carolyn's

Agenda: Fall Garden Preparation

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:01 PM Location The Zimmerman residence | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I just rememberd this from last night. Dave Dauphinee was very entertaining with his magic tricks, especially as he was "several sheets" at the time. He had some of his audience laughing so had I thought they night fall off the chesterfield (sofa). He did one trick with a beach towel and a disappearing leg that took balance. Dave's the only person I know who could pull that off after all that wine.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:58 PM Location On The Patio | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Last night was the closing party of the summer season for the Mountaineers. The party started at 6:00 and the last guests left at 1:30 so that makes it an official success, by MM terms. You know your party was a bust if people leave before midnight. The weather was particularly cooperative and we sat comfortably outside on the patio until the wee hours. There was no moon, lots of stars and the milky was bright. The mosquitoes were voracious at first but eventually they ceased biting - maybe they were full. Lots of welcome bats circled over the patio, bothering no one and pleasing at least some of us.

There was tons of great food (I'm not exaggerating by much) and plenty of good wine & beer. My meringue dessert went untouched so I'm going to ask if I can serve it after the North Mountain Nature & Garden Club meeting on Tuesday evening 9/11 - that will be a very good day to be among friends. Wendy brought a home-made, authentic California guacamole that was irresistible, there were salads of various ilk and Mrs. Beavers sent along a soul-satisfying banana pudding (I wish she'd come, too) in all its yummy goopiness, plus a variety of cookies. In honor of the southerners among us, we made a pulled pork barbecue in the crockpot that was big hit and we could easily have doubled the recipe. We only used the rub and instead of making the bbq sauce we opted for some Sexy BBQ Sauce from Weber's Art Of The Grill that I had made up a few weeks ago and some bottled bbq sauce from Costco. A number of people asked about how the pulled pork was made so here is the recipe.

Carolina “Red” Pulled Pork Shoulder Rub 2 tablespoons pure chile powder 2 tablespoons paprika 2 tablespoons light brown sugar 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon kosher salt 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon granulated garlic ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 5 - 6 pounds boneless pork shoulder roast with a thin layer of exterior fat 3 cups hickory chips, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes Sauce 3 cups apple cider vinegar 14 ounces ketchup, about 2 cups 2 cups packed light brown sugar 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce, or to taste 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 1 dozen hamburger buns 1 pint coleslaw In a small bowl mix the rub ingredients. Coat the pork shoulder all over with the rub and press the spices into the meat. Allow the pork to stand at room temperature for 30 to 40 minutes before grilling. Follow the grill’s instruction for smoking with wood chips. With the lid closed, grill and smoke the pork, fat side up, over indirect low heat (250°F to 300°F) for about 1 hour. (Note: Smoke the pork for the first hour only.) Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a heavy-bottom saucepan, whisk together the sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat, and let simmer for about 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and, if desired, add extra hot pepper sauce. After the pork has been grilling for 1 hour, baste it with the sauce and continue to baste every 30 minutes. Continue grilling until the temperature at the center of the meat registers 180°F. When it is done, the meat should be tender enough to tear with your fingers. The total grilling time will be 5 to 6 hours. Transfer the pork shoulder to a baking sheet, brush liberally with some remaining sauce, and tightly cover with aluminum foil. Let the pork rest for 30 minutes before serving. To serve, pull the warm meat apart with your fingers or two forks and shred into pieces. Discard any large pieces of fat. Pile the seasoned pork on hamburger buns along with your favorite coleslaw and a generous amount of sauce. Makes 10 to 12 servings

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:22 AM Location On The Patio | Permalink | Comments (2)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Last night we got the remnants of a tropical storm that had wended its way up the coast and it dumped 5 - 6 inches of rainwater on Cape Breton. So much rain fell so hard that it washed enough soil into the waterways that the coves and rivers are brown with mud. People's basements are flooding, some of them for the first time, and there is a run on sump pumps at the hardware store. This obviously a tropical storm judging by the warmth, winds and heavy rainfall. I woke up in the wee hours to the sound of rain pounding down, fell back asleep and woke again hours later to the same sound of rain pounding down relentlessly. It must have never stopped, never let up, all night long. The day has been misty, moist, windy and warm, with a fe intermittent intervals of blue sky to make the air thoroughly muggy.

All this rain has brought loads of mushrooms of many varieties. I know only two kinds - morels, which pop up on the first warm day after a rain in the spring, and chaterelles, which are a summer and early spring variety that's coming up now. They're not difficult to spot in the woods. They're a lovely apricot orange color and they can be found under oaks and birches. Chanterelles appear to prefer to grow in leaf litter under a tall tree canopy that is clear of thicket and underbrush. The animals also eat them. I have to get to them quickly after they emerge or else find the edges nibbled by little critters.

I'm on my way to pick up Michealette. We're going up to Hughie's to pick blackberries. He said they're ready for the picking and there are lots of them. I'll let you know how it goes. While we're up there I'll check on all the garden seeds, rutabaga, thyme, lettuce and parsnip that I planted last month.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 2:28 PM Location The Suburbs | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Summer seems to have returned lately and today was a perfect day to spend on the beach. This morning I put some sliced peaches and nectarines in vanilla sugar in ziploc bags in the freezer, then packed up Flyn & Lily and went to the beach for the afternoon. The crowd was comprised of both adults and children, plus a few good dogs, and everyone was having a good time. The water was a little on the cold side, the currents must be stirred up lately, but the air and sun were plenty warm. Next to us was a group of people with a couple of big, black labs that were content to spend the afternoon swimmming and fetching and getting treats from Michealette's grandsons, John and Matthew. Both children and adults swam out to the raft - there was even a small dog, like an oversized Jack Russell, that swam out to the raft. The boys found spot between shore and the raft where razor clams and quahogs are growing, they came back with only one. There were other dogs on the beach - an old German Shepherd, a Pekingese, a big, fluffy mutt - and they all got along. All in all, it was a lovely day in the neighborhood. (Channeling Mr. Rogers) Next Wednesday all the fun stops for another year when the kids go back to school. Maybe we will have a beach party picnic in the early fall with bbq and all the fixings, wouldn't that be nice?

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location On The Beach | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I've come up with a plan to cope with the inevitable potato salad tussle. I'll buy, peel, cut & boil my 10 pounds of taters but I won't do any mixing, I'll leave that to the victor of the Great Marble Mountain Potato Salad Battle. I hope Linda knows what she's getting herself into. Anyway, I told her I'd do potato duty for the lobster take-out and hopefully someone else will dress the little, white, starchy cubes.

Tomorrow morning we intend to leave for DC at breakfast. We'll swill the tea, coffee, fruit & cereal, then head out the door. En route we'll spend the night in Portland so we can dine at one of our favorite places, 555 Congress Street, and afterward stroll the streets along the waterfront and up the hill in the historic section. Thursday night we will be with the parents in Easton and most likely spend the day with them, then on to Germantown for dinner with Trevor and Debbie (that they will be preparing).

We'll stay in the Marriott Washingtonian Friday - Sunday, then on to another location for Tuesday night. Wednesday we'll stay with Ed & Suzy Burke in CT. It's going to be a very busy trip. It began with the need to re-register the pickup truck and get its emissions tested and then morphed into a hyper-social trip. Friday - dinner at Trev's, Saturday - out with Trev & Debbie in the afternoon, out with Elena in the evening, Sunday - bbq at Bonnie's, Monday - dinner at the Vasili's in Kentlands with Wilfred & Karen, Tuesday - an evening to ourselves, at least so far, Wednesday - drive to CT to see the Burke's and Thursday we get an early start (it's a 15 hour drive) to go home. Whew! Could we fit a kayaking trip in there somewhere?

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:13 PM Location MM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The very first Marble Mountain Garden Club is scheduled to be held this evening at 6334 Marble Mountain Road, in the screen room. Should it be the Marble Mountain Co-Ed Garden Club? Many of the men would like to participate, even if they won't admit it. So far, invitees include Fiona, Carolyn, Lynn, Linda, Betty Jean, Janet, Vickie, Michealette, Wendy and myself. An agenda has not yet been drawn up, however, there are some topics that we have been informally discussing for quite some time. Issues that we will possibly cover include:

- an actual name (will MMGC suffice?),

- how often to meet,

- where to meet,

- dues,

- projects, and

- doing a "gardening circle" in which we all take turns going to one another's homes to provide whatever service we can.

I like the idea of doing a visiting garden service among club members, not the least of which is because it would help novices and those who are intimidated by gardening as well as trouble-shoot for experienced gardeners. It's all about learning and providing support for the members.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 2:18 PM Location at home, in the Screen Room | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The first planting of the season has occurred - this morning I put 7 little potato eyes in a long window box in the potting shed. Back to our days of living in farm country in mid-northern Indiana, the Hoosiers have a saying that peas and potatoes go in on St. Patrick's Day. March 14 is close enough for government work . Next, peas go in the garden. Over the next few days temperatures are forecast to get a lot warmer but then go back down. I'm not sure if this will work for peas since they grow above ground. There are a few hardy greens, herbs and root crops that like to go in as soon as the soil can be worked. That will be any day now. The seed order has arrived from Vesey's so all we're waiting on now is the weather.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:51 AM Location Potting Shed | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I believe winter's cold has bottomed out. Right now the temperature is -2 F / -19 C. It doesn't get much colder than that here in Marble Mountain. Only three weeks ago there were flowers blooming nearby, albeit hardy blooms such as pansies and perennial geraniums.

Interestingly, the Weather Network on my blog clams that the temperature in Whycocomagh is currently 11 F / -12 C; Port Hawkesbury is -18C / -1 F. How can there be such a wide disparity? Accuweather claims it's -10 F / -23 C in West Bay, that's more like it, and the high is forecast to reach 13 F / -11 C. So which weather service is more accurate, Weather Network or Accuweather?

This is when I start dreaming of visiting warmer climates like Florida, except that Florida is having an orange-killing freeze this week, ditto for California's groves. Citrus prices will skyrocket and supplies will tank. Fyi, Orlando, FL, is 50 F / 10C and North Port is 47 F / 8 C. The in-laws are spending the winter in North Port. That's warmer than here but still a long way from beach weather.

Here's a very good article in this morning's WP about making ice wine in Jordan, Ontario, in the Niagara region on the south shore of Lake Ontario. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/30/AR2007013001609.html An excerpt: "This bounty will create a wine that is becoming a signature product for Canada. As the grapes are squeezed by a hydraulic Italian press in a wooden vat, the frozen water remains with the discarded skin. What drains out is an intensely sweet juice that is fermented into a pricey wine found on the desert lists of the finest restaurants." He goes on to say, " ... ice wine ... it's become our new maple syrup." So true and oh so good.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:08 AM Location Home in Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
For the last year, the folks at St. George's Channel have been holding a weekly coffee & tea in their lovely, new hall. A few years ago the old one burned down so the folks there did a number of things to gather some capital in order to rebuild their hall. They were smart & determined and eventually accrued $60,000.00 toward the new hall. It's a lovely hall with a million dollar view.

A lot of careful thought and planning went into the design of the building and it shows. To begin with, the hall is big enough but not too big for a variety of functions. Folding long tables and stackable chairs are frequently put to good use. The kitchen has a very versatile and funtional island that also has plenty of storage built into it. The rest rooms are roomy enough to accommodate handicapped persons. The dishwasher is commercial grade and there are two kitchen stoves. Outside is a storage shed.

Our garden club, Autumn Joy, meets there regularly so we have gotten to know some of the people who are responsible for fundraising, designing, building and running the hall. We have spoken with them about our hall and the declining state of its health. We could never do all the things with the MMV hall that they do in St. Geo. Channel, our hall simply is too old and not up to code. In fact, MMV hall is probably on its way out. We explained all this to the SGC folks and they have been immensely forthcoming with advice and information. They are very supportive of our desire to build a new hall in MMV and they are going to hold fact-finding meetings with us to help us flesh out our plan. They are truly wonderful, generous people and we are very fortunate to have them nearby.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:22 PM Location St. George's Channel Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We had a fairly mild evening a few nights ago so I went outside to view the moon, stars and all the other things, like satellites and jets, that show in the night sky. Never did I expect to see a shooting star but there it went, directly overhead, traversing approximately a third of the night sky. That was a true treat and a thrill.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location In the Heavens | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Last night was a full moon and the sky is clear. On such nights the earth is illuminated to the extent that it's difficult to tell what time of day it is, the sky is lit almost like daylight. The moon is fully round and glowingly brilliant, as are the stars that share the sky with it. There is none of the light pollution and smog that spoils the view of the night sky in more populated areas. If you want to watch the night sky, this is the place for you.

Without a cloud cover to hold in the residual heat from the day's sunlight, the temperature dipped a little below freezing. If there is any cloud cover tonight, everything will melt and turn to mud. The plants aren't sure what time of year it is and some of them are starting to green.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:22 AM Location Marble Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
New Year's Eve has traditionally meant a night of drinking and partying but strict DWI laws and the added threat of treacherous weather lately serve to keep people at home. Instead of sitting at home watching other folks party on tv, we decided to do something about it. Here in Marble Mountain we have a number of fun-loving folks who live close by so a community potluck dinner was held on New Year's Eve, starting at 6:00, followed by an evening of Yahtzee, Yum, Sequence, jigsaw puzzles, capped by raucous celebrating at midnight with glittery, cardboard, party hats and noisemakers and many hugs & kisses. Then we all went outside while Bradley set off a few mild-mannered fireworks.

The food was terrific, you couldn't have gotten better at an establishment charging $200.00 pp. There were dips & chips, green salads of cabbage, spinach & lettuce, beef dishes, chicken dishes, shrimp dishes, vegetarian dishes, fresh, homemade bread and biscuits. (Kit's 5 onion & bleu cheese tartlettes were a big hit!) We ate until midnight and then some. There was fruit punch and mulled wine and homemade wine and bought wine and juices and beer and sodas and rum and tea and coffee. No one was dry or hungry. After Boxing Day's extravaganza of sweets, no one brought desserts and none of us wanted them.

There were approximately 30 adults and children. We had expected more but the seriously inclement weather kept some folks home - those were some significant snow showers & flurries. Yvonne was originally going to bring her children and their friends but they stayed home. When Donald & Bernadette left they took some plates of food for Yvonne & the children, since they live across the street. None of the older folks came, though they all were welcome and we all would have loved to have had them join us. A few other people had already committed to going to other parties. It wouldn't take much for MM to become "The Place To Be" on New Year's Eve.

There may be a MM dart team forming, really! Once again the old dart boards were pressed into use. There were 9 darters and they were formed into two teams, the all-Dave team (Dave Dauphinee, Dave MacDonald and Dave Campbell) and the Bradley, Carl, Tom, George, Kit and Donald team - Kit and Donald are the only ones currently on an active dart team. I'm not sure who won but who cares? It was all in good fun. As the game subsided, a few folks took the opportunity to get in a little practice. Michealette took a few shots at the board and did quite well. Carolyn threw darts for the first time and had beginners luck - she managed to get some pretty good results. Finally, as "middle Dave" Dauphinee was walking back from retrieving his darts from the board, half of it broke loose and fell off the wall. Those boards are getting on in years and showing their age. Kit took a screwdriver to it yesterday morning to take it home for repair and discovered that mice had eaten out the back board on which it is mounted, which is probably what caused it to come apart. A little glue, some nails & screws and a new piece of sheet cork should suffice to put the board back into action again.

We brought our boom box in for music and eventually the guitars came out. The live music started with young Michealette and Gordon playing acoustic guitar and singing, then "initial Dave" Campbell joined in on his acoustic guitar and, eventually, Bradley joined them with his fire engine red electric guitar. They played and sang Simon & Garfunkel, Gordon Lightfoot and a few local Cape Breton songs that I had never heard before. How wonderful it was to again be in the presence of musicians, something I used to take for granted. One day a few years ago I realized it had been a long time since someone I know took up a guitar and started playing & singing. I had wondered at the time what had happened to my life that there were no longer musicians in it, I had hit a musician "dead zone" and wondered if it also meant a personal "dead zone" I had somehow managed to reach. I guess that's over!

On New Year's Day Michealete and I were joined on our daily walk by Carolyn, Dave & Fiona and their dog, Ceilidh. My 2 Border Collies, Flyn & Lily, always walk with us. We walked down Livingstone's road, all the way to Buchen's bridge. Flyn went for a swim under the bridge and Ceilidh happily carried her newly found rock. Lily laid in wait and jumped Flyn as he approached and a good time was had by all. Happy New Year!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:05 AM Location The Village Hall | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Last week we were in MD for a business meeting between Kit and Clyde. While we were there we also had Christmas with Leah, Trevor and their sweeties. It was nice to see our kids and being in Montogomery County gave us oodles of places to xmas shop.

Here's it's windy and sunny and 38F today. It was raining last week for a few days and we drove home in it, arriving at our domicile after 10:00 Saturday night.

This year we're spending the holidays home alone with the dogs. Friends & neighbors have been calling and visiting. Tomorrow is Boxing Day and we're planning a hike over the mountain to also do the annual Christmas bird count. Afterward there will be a potluck and game night party in the hall in the village. Next week - more parties to bring in the New Year. Then we rest for a few weeks.

Merry Christmas! Maggie

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:13 PM Location Home Sweet Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Now that we've had freezes it's time to gather in the frost-hardy foods such as parsnips (which could actually have spent the winter in the ground) carrots, chard, kale, beets, celery, radicchio and herbs, and get the spring bulbs planted in the flower garden. We have a plethora of parsley, radicchio and arugula.

First I dug holes and planted the allium and tulip bulbs, with help from Kit who manages to get the bulb planter to sink into the ground far deeper than I can manage. Deeper planting is essential for larger bulbs. Then we moved on to the vegetable garden and dug up the parsnips, carrots and onions. I cut the greens, both cooking greens and salad greens, which made those beds available for fall preparations. Kit subsequently dug those beds up and turned over the soil to kill the weeds and work in some amendments for next spring's plantings.

All the while that we were working in the garden, 1-year-old Lily was carefully watching us and taking mental notes. Yesterday I went out into the garden and noticed that there is now a hole dug in one of the beds and in the middle of that hole there's a rock, carefully placed in the middle where the hole is the deepest. Lily, the rock-chasing pooch, seems to have decided that she would also garden so she planted one of her stones in the garden bed. My other dog, Zak, goes out and pulls weeds. These dogs are waay too observant. This is the advantage to keeping pups with their mothers for as long as possible so they learn how to be dogs. Puppies taken from their mothers and away from their litter mates when they are still very young use their humans as role models. Food for thought, yes?

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location In The Garden | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We are thankful for little favors. Yesterday nearly all of the residents of Marble Mountain gathered in the village to move the artifacts out of the museum and into the town hall upstairs for storage until the new museum is built or the old one satisfactoriy restored to health. The weather was pleasant and warm and the air quite still. As we were completing the move the sun came out and made everything bright & warm. Today has been rainy & chill all day long. Thank heavens the weather was agreeable yesterday, when we really needed it. The move took only two hours due to all the people and their hard work. Working to package and move the stuff were Dave & Fiona, Kit & Maggie, Charlie, Carolyn & George, Donnie, Linda, Wendy, Lynn and Carl.

To reward ourselves and celebrate the event, we gathered at the hall at 5:00 for a potluck followed by game night. There was an excellent spread of food and desserts and the dart boards in the hall were back into service for the first time in 15 years. The card tables were set up to hold the games. We played cribbage, jigsaw, Scrabble and more.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:40 PM Location Marble Mountain Village Shoolhouse Museum | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This morning the dogs and I went for our daily hike down the road behind our cove. Yesterday I missed it so I took the pooches on a slightly longer walk to make up for it. The dirt road wraps around the cove, bends, rises and dips to make for a free circuit training workout for both humans and canines. It's a perfect length for the daily hike. The road is mostly tree-lined so there's a protection from the wind that makes it truly pleasant. Plus there are seldom people back there and the few houses off that road are owned by Germans who are here only on occasional vacations. It couldn't be nicer. The temperature is quite agreeable for mid-November, 56F/13C at 10:00 am, and the air is perfectly still. The lake looks like glass. The 3-pack of dogs, Zak, Lily & Flyn, accompanied me first to the beach at Livingstone's where they swam and chased sticks to their heart's delight, then down the road to Bucken's bridge and up & down Ed & Suzy's driveway both coming & going, with the pooches swimming at every opportunity. I heard a truck and hammering but I can't tell where it was coming from. Sound travels very well across the water, especially when the air is still. The week has been very comfortable and the air relatively calm. Were the boat still in the water it would have been nice to go out on the lake. Every morning this week we have gotten up to fog and I think today it is at its thickest. We couldn't see across the cove to the other shore. The fog's starting to lift now and soon we may see the sun.

Today is Ladie's Night Out on Marble Mountain, when the ladie's gather at a restaurant and swap stories and generally have a pretty good time. Tonight's selection is one of the Chinese restaurants in Port Hawkesbury.

Tomorrow is the day the museum gets packed up and the contents stored in the Community Hall for safekeeping until we can either get a new hall built or the old schoolhouse made structurally sound so the artifacts can be moved back into it. The movers are gathering to start the packing & moving at 11:00 am tomorrow. My guess is that we'll be getting a new hall - and hopefully soon. Following the move, Marble Mountain Potluck & Game Night is scheduled in the hall at 6:00, or 5:00 if you want to start earlier. (According to Carolyn, the seniors think they aren't allowed to participate. I don't have a clue why they think that, they are as welcome as anyone else to join in the packing, moving and game night potluck fun. The more the merrier! Or... Many hands make light work.) Jean McCann thought up Potluck & Family Game Night and I think it's a good start to using the hall for the folks in the community. So far it has only been used for events for the seniors of the community, which amounts to Friday night card games and 3 community potlucks in which the folks of the community bring dishes to serve, then everyone pays $8.00 to come in and eat the excellent home-cooked food, and the occasional seniors luncheon, one of which was held yesterday. Yesterday the women of the community prepared a very nice meal, served it to the seniors for $5.00 per person, then the ladies got to wash their dishes and clean up afterward. What a deal! I don't know why this is only for the seniors and not the community at large, there must be a reason but I don't know what it is. Maybe it has to do with the church? Some other event or anniversary? Maybe some day I'll find out. All that food & getting waited on for only $5.00. How nice.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:25 AM Location Black's Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The first annual home-made wine tasting of Marble Mountain was a great success last night. We sampled 16 bottles of wine that displayed varying levels of sophistication and maturity. Some were quite young and some were aged to mellowness. The tasting began at 7:30-ish and continued until 2:30 am. A very suitable array of nibbles was presented- cheese & crackers, bread slices, dip, sausages & shrimp, fruit, veggies, desserts - to accompany the quaffing. The weather was agreeable and before the night was through we took the opportunity to stand outside and admire the starry night sky.

The event was held at the Davis' home. The wine station was set upon the work island and food on the table in the great room, desserts in the patio outdoors and more cheese in the screen room where the Jotul cookstove was keeping us all warm. In attendance were the hosts, Kit & Maggie Davis, next door neighbors Charlie & Marilyn Kehoe who forged their way through the woods to reach our house, the newest addition to the neighborhood Fiona and Dave Dauphinee, Wendy (head of the museum committee) & Dave MacDonald, mountain people Jean & Tom McCann, Russell White and Beatrice (Donald MacFadyen's aunt), Bill & Betty Jean Legge, Iris & Glen MacLean and party pooches Zak, Flyn & Lily, who particularly enjoyed the party. Next year's Marble Mountain Vintner's 2nd Annual Wine Tasting Soiree will be a black dress event - inevitably a glass of red wine is going to spill. No stain, no pain, life is good. There was some talk that next year's event may be held in the Marble Mountain Community Hall in the village.

Supposedly red wine can be removed by saturating it with white wine, then blotting but why put good white wine to such a use? Save it for imbibing. Wear black.

It was decided last night by the folks who are on the MM Museum board that next Saturday will be the day the artifacts get boxed & moved into the hall for safety. (The museum's foundation is crumbling.) Afterward there will be a potluck meal in the hall with MM wines & soft drinks. Bring games for afterward.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:44 AM Location Black's Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Today there are four men at Michealette's house splitting and stacking her firewood for her while she is at to work. How did she get no fewer than four men to do that work for her? She could give the rest of us lessons.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 3:38 PM Location At The Neighbor's House | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Can you believe we're having snow today? It's only flurries but still, it's only November 4! Last year we had our first heavy frost/freeze and snow much later. I realize we're in Canada but this is waaay too early, at least for me. Does this portend a particularly snowy winter? We shall see.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:22 PM Location Black's Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
On Sunday afternoon the community had its first open meeting regarding the state of the museum and community hall in the village. Both buildings are deteriorating but the museum far more so than the hall. The museum's foundation is crumbling to the extent that it is not safe. A couple of tourists from BC wanted to tour it recently but Donna refused to take them in there, she was concerned for their safety and probably her own as well. It's a shame to see the buildings in such poor shape but, as Charlie Kehoe pointed out, they are built on land that's bog and all that moisture plus the very open, exposed location contribute to rot and freeze damage. Given those conditions, I'm not sure there's anything that could have prevented the deterioration.

Repairing the structures has been debated and no solid conclusions have been made. Let's focus on the museum to start out, as it's in worse shape. Since Charlie is a professional home builder (he and his brother, Ron, built ours and no one could have done a better job) we are relying on his expertise to inform us regarding the condition of the buildings and what it would take to repair and maintain them vs. building anew. The community has less than half enough $ to make repairs to the foundation. Friday evening card games and three open-to-the-public potluck dinners over the summer are not going to generate enough revenue to keep the buildings in good repair. What a painful sitution this is to be in.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location The Village | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Halloween night, the pumpkins carved and set at the doorstep and at the end of the driveway with candles in them, the candles lit along the walk and only two sisters trick or treating. We were "all dressed up with nowhere to go". What is it going to take to get little goblins back in our neighborhood? We miss them!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Last night's termperature 31F / -1C did it, the tender plants all frosted. Even Lily's morning frisbee had frost on it. The dainty impatiens should have come in last night, too late. Those tiny patty pan and zukes will become roasted baby vegetables at dinner tonight. Now the parsnips can be pulled, they've had the frost that makes them so tasty. Now we'll have to think seriously about pulling the carrots and beets.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:23 AM Location Black's Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Today I went to pick cranberries in the field next to a house owned by people Michaelette knows. I sort of know them, I know his parents and these are the same people who let us pick blueberries in July. It's the Talbot's, they also sell their honey locally at the post office.

The cranberries are wild, they have always grown there. The field overlooks the cove and the land there is wet, almost boggy. There doesn't appear to be a brook but there must be underground springs that keep the soil moist. Kneel on it and get wet pant legs. The berries are totally organic and they are beauties - plump, crisp and fresh. It doesn't get any fresher than that. Ocean Spray can't top those lovely berries.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:25 PM Location West Bay | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Lately we have been having exquisitely gorgeous weather, the kind that only happens in early fall. The bright sun in the daytime warms the air to the extent that we have been walking around in shorts and sandals and even wading in the lake for mussels. At night the temperature drops enough that we needed to add a blanket to the bed covers.

On just such a gorgeous day yesterday I gave in to the urge to take the dogs for a walk & a swim on a nearby uninhabited, private beach. The three pooches, Zak, Flyn & Lily, enjoy running up & down the shoreline. I indulge them with a water game they totally enjoy. I call it splash. I take a handful of small rocks and toss them into the water one at a time, this way & that. They chase after the rocks and pounce onto the splash with great enthusiasm, darting left and right as I toss the rocks back & forth. It's great exercise for them and they have a blast. While they frolicked on the beach, I searched the woods under the fir trees for fall chanterelles, which come out in October. No luck on finding mushrooms.

My plan was to go from the beach to the little bridge at Buchen's island where the pups like to clamber down the rocks to a very shallow spot on the cove to play in the water. On the way, we crossed an open field where wild blueberries and blackberries grow. I had hoped to find a few dried blueberries but instead I found many fresh, red, crisp, round cranberries, just like the ones from the market that are packaged by Ocean Spray. They are difficult to see, cranberries being a ground cover, and the berries lie almost at ground level under the leaves, which look like the leaves of thyme plants. Yesterday being Canada's Thanksgiving, I thought the bounty particularly fitting. I filled one of my pockets so deeply that I had trouble walking. It was jammed tight with cranberries, like a vegan cloth sausage. I managed to fit in enough cranberries to rival the small bag of cranberries I had recently bought at the supermarket. Add to that all the great organic goodies from the garden and it was indeed a true feast for which to give thanks.

What to do - should I make cranberry bread now or put them in the freezer for winter use?

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:05 AM Location Out Of Doors | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This year is the 10th anniversary of the Celtic Colours Music Festival and that means a big-bash gala for opening night, for the steep price of $50.00 per ticket. Forget it, only rich tourists pay those kinds of prices, locals can't afford that. For heaven's sake, that's what you pay to see Luciano Pavarotti & Placido Domingo in full dress at the Kennedy Center or the Met! Let's get real about these prices.

Night 1: Instead of going to the opening gala, we chose instead to go to the After-Hours Club at the Celtic College for what we expected to cost $15.00, instead we were charged $20.00pp. I read on the Colours website that admission was $15.00 - don't believe everything you read. The club opens at 11:00 and goes until everyone runs out of steam.

The idea with the club is that the musicians who performed at that night's venues will also play at the club, always hosted by local musician Buddy MacDonald. We stayed at the club until 2:30 and the only talent we saw was Buddy, who played until much later than he should have, and some other local talent, who were very good but not the headliners of the evening. We went to the club expecting to see Natalie MacMaster, Bela Fleck and Carlos Nunez but they were a no-show. Here's the story: PBS was filming the opening night and caused much delay in the performances, which people at the club were grumbling over. Some people were so annoyed and fed-up that they actually walked out of the opening gala and headed for the club.

Night 2: Saturday we went to Wagmatcook Culture and Heritage Centre for "The Bands Played On". The event opened with a drumming welcome by the Indian Bay Drummers, which we missed because we had to park so far from the building (it doesn't pay to get there on time, must get there early to get a good parking spot and a good seat). Crasdant followed and it's a good thing they were on early or we would have fallen asleep. Welsh music needs a little coffee. It could pass for lullaby music. Next up was Flook (pronounced like fluke) and they were great! Have you ever heard modern jazz Celtic music? I'll buy their cd. Last up was the Barra MacNeils and they never disappoint.

The weather has been great. It was also a full, harvest moon and it was magnificent to see shining over the water. Opening night was crisp and there was a frost in Valley Mills. Home was 11 degrees warmer so no frost here. Saturday was significantly warmer and we enjoyed the walk to the car. The weather has been truly balmy. One of the musicians from Scotland said this is the first time he's gotten a sunburn in October.

Night 3: Last night was "Whycocomagh Gathering" with the always-entertaining Phil Cunningham & very talented fiddler Aly Bain, hugely talented (and just, plain huge) J.P. Cormier, A Crowd of Bold Sharemen with their sea shanty songs and great harmonies, ending with a lively and polished performance by Beolach. Again, the weather was particularly agreeable.

Night 4: That's tonight - "A Touch Of The Irish" in Lower River Inhabitants at the Riverdale Club- and you'll have to wait to read yet-unwritten entries to get the scoop on it. I'm going to try to remember to bring a pillow, their chairs are the utmost in misery. Playing will be A Crowd of Bold Sharemen from very Irish Newfoundland (again), Michael Black from Ireland, English/Irish Flook (again), John Ferguson (whoever he is) and Buddy MacDonald. How did Buddy get in there? He's a Cape Bretoner with a Scottish name. Oh nevermind, he's always good. Tune in tomorrow for more updates. The weather is summery today, again.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:08 AM Location Black's Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We had our first frost of the season this morning. The thermometer read 37 but there was a coating of ice on the windshields. There goes the garden. The hot peppers and honeydew melons were covered but the rest of the garden is exposed. There go the tomatoes and summer squashes, sigh. The peas, hearty greens and perhaps the beans should be ok; except for the basil, the herbs should have survived as well. It's time to harvest the pumpkins.

The last frost in the spring was on April 3rd, approximately. Interestingly, Maryland had a later frost, followed by a scorching, record-breakingly warm winter, spring and summer. We'll see about this year.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:44 AM Location Black's Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Yesterday I was informed by Tom, Jean and Michaelette that the funky rotting vegetation smell we picked up on top of the mountain in a lovely, sunny glade was the smell of a bear. I'm glad they waited until we were safely back home before saying this. Add bells to shopping list before next mountain hike.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:20 AM Location In The Neighborhood | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Last December Otto left us for good. We just happened to be in MD when he departed. Otto had been on borrowed time for quite a while so it was difficult to wrap our heads around the fact that he might not be here the next day or the day after that. Michaelette knew he was leaving soon, of that I am certain. The evening before we were to leave to drive to MD Michaelette called and asked us if we'd like to come over and say goodbye to Otto. That's when it hit me that he would not still be with us when we returned. Sure enough, we got the phone call in MD so we cut the trip short and drove back a couple of days ahead of schedule.

That was a difficult time for Michaelette and her daughters. They always referred to him as Papa; he was more of a father to them and grandfather to the grandsons than their real father/grandfather. Otto Osmond was a big man and he left a big hole in the lives of those he left behind. He also left a lot of substance to fill in lots of places in people's lives and that's what we all remember about him. We have two of the Adirondack/Muskoka pieces he made to prove it.

Otto wanted to have his ashes sprinkled on Sheep Island, a place of many happy memories for the family. Today we gathered boats and friends together and went out to give Otto his final send off with a toast of his favorite drink - Scotch. There were three boats, a little aluminum skiff of Hughie's, a bright orange with green trim Newfoundland dory with an old friend & his son at the helm, and our bright red boat with the white cabin, the only boat with a cabin. Though overcast, the weather was very good, warm and not too breezy. The first run was begun between 12:30 and 1:00. By the time the orange dory and our authentic-looking "lobster" boat made another round trip, it was probably between 2:00 - 2:30.

When the second run came around the point with Michaelette, they headed for the beach opposite us on the other shore, at Pelliers, and dropped people off there. All of us wondered what they were doing there, and an uh-oh set in. Then they came over to us at our beach where we had finally managed a roaring fire on the beach, using facial tissues and blank checks as starter. He said the ashes ceremony was going to be on that other beach. I said "But we're on Sheep Island and that over there is not an island". He said "It is now" so we all got back into the boats and went over to the "other" Sheep Island and there the mission was accomplished, complete with Scotch toast.

For sure Otto was up there laughing at us first off for going out in the questionable weather, also laughing at us for getting the wrong beach and, thirdly, for trying to fit some 40 people on three little boats, two of which were open, no cabin. It took a total of 5 trips to get everyone out there. On the way back a wind kicked up and made waves that sprayed over the boaters. Lots of people came back soaking wet, drenched & dripping salt water. Not to worry, there was lots of great food and drinks of all kinds to warm people up once they got into dry clothes.

Rest in peace, Otto.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:29 PM Location Sheep Island - both of them | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
It was Saturday night so that means a get-together of the usual suspects. Tom & Jean decided it was their turn to host, particularly so since they live at the starting point of the day's hike. Back up the mountain we went, this time by car and carrying food. Not only is Marble Mountain a great wine-making community, it is also a great food community as well. The hosts provided hamburgers, buffalo burgers, potobello patties and sausages and wine. The rest of the hikers brought 2 sets of crudites & dips & wine, spinach salad & wine, burger toppings, potatoes au gratin plus fresh-picked cuke salad (our contributions) & wine, Fiona's home made guacamole & chips & wine, salsa and more chips & wine, Caroline's layered dessert of shortbread with cream cheese & fruit topping & wine and Mary Dunbrack's apple crisp & wine. Plus ice cream. There was lots more food that than but I've lost track of it in my stuffed delirium. Organizing food & wine dinners sounds like a good idea. Oh waitaminute, we're already doing that.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:18 PM Location Up The Mountain | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The day of the hike over Marble Mountain to the fire hall at Valley Mills finally arrived today. We've been talking about doing this with Michaelette for over a year. In the course of that year the number of interested folks and dogs has grown greatly.

Thirteen people and seven dogs hiked over the mountain, starting at the top at the fire tower. We followed the ATV trail across the top of the mountain, through the bog, over the little, red, endangered, man-eating pitcher plants (their jaws unhinge to fit in humans), across the streams, around the springs that fill up puddles in the middle of the path, and down the other side to Valley Mills. We made great time for the number of participants, completing the hike in only 1 hour, 23 minutes. That includes interludes to view Kodak spots and snap pix on all the cameras, all 5 of them.

The group consisted of the usual bunch and a few newcomers: Tom & Jean McCann, George & Caroline Chant, Gary & Mary Dunbrack, Michaelette Barrington, Fiona and Dave Dauphinee, Lynn & Carl Zimmerman, Ed & Suzy Burke and Kit & myself. The dog pack consisted of the usual bunch plus a few newcomers: Clancy McCann, Ceilidh Dauphinee, Zak Davis, Flyn Davis, Lily Davis, Bailey Burke and Katy Johnson. With all those canines along for the hike, we didn't have any fear of coming upon coyotes, bears or bobcats. The dogs hit every water hole, especially the deep & muddy ones. All arrived safely back home in Marble Mountain, worn, muddy, very, very happy and ready for a nap.

The hike was 2.66 miles or 4.5 kilometers. There is no shortage of documentation of our foray across the mountain. We plan to do it again in November after the leaves have fallen and also on Christmas Day. That would be a good time to do the Christmas bird count.

We can see that there has been much atv activity up the mountain road. Tom said he saw 6 of them going up the mountain last Sunday. They atv's keep the path open but at a price to the environment. They create deep ruts in the road, create puddles where there should be earth a good foot higher and they run over the fragile mountaintop bog, destroying flora, like rare pitcher plants, that is not easily replaced. Every pro has a con and keeping the mountain road open is no exception.

To celebrate finally accomplishing the walk across the mountain road, there will be a bash at the McCann's home this evening. Rest assured that there will be plenty of food, lots of home made wine, rum, tea, storytelling, maybe a game of Sequence and possibility a country square set or two.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 2:21 PM Location Marble Mountain, Both Sides | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
This past week has been spent gathering apples & plums and making plum jam & apple jelly. This brings me back to summer and fall days of my childhood foraging and cooking and storing fruits to put away for winter use. We almost never bought jams or tomatoes, those were brought up from the cellar where they were stored after canning. The jars were stored in little wooden cabinets that were handmade by my grandfather. In those cabinets were tomatoes, apple jelly (never apple butter) made with wild apples and crabapples, concord grape jelly that we picked wild in south county, Damson plum jam, piccalilli, relishes and chow chows. Once we brought home mulberries for jam from a neighbor's front yard.

From our garden we have 16 cukes, 4 zukes, 4 pattypan, 2 weird chubby pale green zuke-type and 4 yellow squash, a couple of pounds of green and wax beans, a pile of tomatoes, some Roma flat green beans and a mess of red runner beans - maybe as much as 4 pounds - a little pumpkin and one bright orange, flattish winter keeping squash. Al this on top of all the veggies I put in the freezer a week ago, approximately 10 pounds of it. Not bad for gardening in the frozen north.

I also gathered lots of nasturtium seeds. That is a plant I have come to greatly appreciate. All parts of the plant are edible. The leaves and flowers can be used fresh in a salad and the seeds can be made into nasturtium "capers". That's my latest new project - nasturtium capers. We'll see how those turn out. The plant has been a generous giver. As long as it has water & sun and at least a little soil to root in it gives & gives. What a darling of a garden plant. I've been busy gathering the seeds and drying them to save for next year's planting.

This evening will be spent steaming the multitude of veggies, putting them in ziploc bags and stashing away in the freezer. All the little pieces that don't fit in any bags or jars will go in what I call my soup bag so that I will have it ready for quick & easy soup in the cold, barren winter.

I've run out of apple cider vinegar or else I'd be making more plum-rhubarb-tomato chutney. The rhubarb came from Michaelette & Donald's way back in the spring; the plums from Michaelette's tree and the tomatoes & red onion from my yard. I also tried making plum sauce for lamb, duck and poultry, which should also be good on wild game. Eat locally I always say. Thank you Michaelette and Donald for sharing the bounty.

Next week we'll be making more apple jelly & plum jam from Michaelette's tree, the tree on the Livingstone's property and trees from the old orchard on the old farmstead down the road. Tonight, it's beef pot roast with turnips from Hughie's garden. Thank you, Hughie and the Livingstone's.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:45 PM Location Home Front | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We're still getting warm, gorgeous days here, with gentle breezes blowing softly through the trees. Tomatoes are still ripening, squash is still producing, lettuce is leafing and beans are still giving. The nasturtiums are blossoming profusely. Those sugar snaps peas fresh off the vine will be sorely missed once fall arrives; until then, we're enjoying the respite from fall. Today finds a very welcome rain, warm and still.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 9:20 AM Location Black's Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Air temp: 87 Water temp: 76 at a depth of 15 inches The summer has been lovely, comfortable and pleasant, with enough rain to keep things green & growing but not soggy.

What's missing from this summer is the scorching heat wave that makes you wilt, makes you want to go jump in the lake and keeps you from falling asleep at night from the sticky & muggies. That heatwave weather is also what kicks the garden nto high gear. As a result, only now are the red runner beans starting to produce and ditto for the tomatoes. The peppers are a foregone conclusion; without a heat surge that warms the night, they don't produce. The moderate summer means that we are still picking the lettuce & peas that were planted way back at the beginning of the season.

We'll see what next year brings. As an old-timer said recently, the old weather patterns don't apply any more, the seasons are different now.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 2:10 PM Location On The Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The 4th Annual Marble Mountain Family Day At The Wharf and Poker Run was once again a great success. Everyone had a great time, from what I can tell. The weather was cofortable and though there were clouds, they all passed without giving rain. The poker run ended by 2:30 and Ron Kehoe's son cam in 3rd. That was one excited boy!

Rodney MacDonald came and gave a nice, vanilla speech, naming the member of the Marble Mountain Wharf Committee members. Our warden also spoke and he delivered a thoughtful message.

It seems that the most popular part of the day is the food. It sold out before the end of the event and there was more food this year than last year. Maybe we should simply hold a food fest and poker run, those are the most popular events of the day.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location The Wharf, Beach & Shed | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
At 4:00 pm the temperature is 91F / 33 C, water temp in the cove is 80 F / 27C.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:05 PM Location Black's Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
There's a lovely new house being built across the cove from me on the backside of the peninsula. It's on Oyster Cove and the cove opens up with a view of Cameron Island. It's coming right along, on schedule, according to the builders and carpenters (Pirro (sp) Brothers). It is designed with the main part of the house in the center and "wings" of a sort on the sides where the bedrooms are. It has a loft that comes halfway forward, leaving a vaulted ceiling with a large view. It truly is a nice house but, considering that the gentleman who owns it is an architect, I had expected something more cutting-edge.

When our house was being built we thought it really strange that people in the community would come down our driveway to look at the house. Now I'm doing it! In a community with no Starbucks or movie theaters it's the next best thing to going to see Pirates Of The Caribbean III.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 1:29 PM Location across the cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Lynn and I just got back from a nearly 5 hour boat tour out of the marina at St. Peter's. The marina is in an out-of-the-way location behind the beautiful, new, extensive, old folks complex. We would never have found it on our own. We started out at 1:00 and disembarked at 10 minutes before 6:00. I thought it was only going to be a 2 hour tour, it was supposed to be a 4 hour tour!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 12:00 AM Location St. Peter's | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
The Luna moth eggs have not yet hatched. Still waiting and hoping.... Kit's out in the yard building bean trellises for the veggie garden. We have no fewer than 22 raised, double-dug beds, 27 of them if you break the double beds into singles. In a separate location, we have rhubarb, grape vines, seasonal & everbearer strawberries and two kinds of grapevines. The cuke plants we put in last week immediately croaked, supposedly from not being hardened off, so we need to replant them. I am driven like a madwoman to cover up all the hideous gravel we've been living with since we set up housekeeping here several years ago. The seemingly endless gravel makes this place look like an industrial site instead of a warm, welcoming homestead. So far we have put down topsoil to grow a lawn and an uncounted number of bags of mulch to protect the plants I hope will grow and cover to the gravel. We bought the largest, longest pumpkin plants we could find to plant on the gravel slope behind the shed with the intention of using the plants to cover the unsightly gravel. Anything that vines or spreads and will grow there gets planted on that slope. Last year I saved half a can of nasturtium seeds. I figure if anything can grow in that gravel, nasturtiums can, and I've been insterspersing the plants with sweet alyssum, which seems to grow profusely anywhere. The soil here is awful. Even at the foot of Marble Mountain (marble being a form of limestone) the soil is too acidic. The water in the cove is 60 F / 15.6 C at a depth of approximately 1 foot, off the end of the dock. The themometer is getting more difficult to read with all the mussels growing on it. Pretty soon we'll be swimming of the dock and riding floatees in the cove. Kids were swimming in the cove at the Boudreau's yesterday and paddling little, red, plastic kayaks. Flyn went down there to keep company with the lively, noisy kids. Ah, summer. Local lobstering ends in a week and a half. Time to call our lobsterman for a few of the critters, fresh from the water. It looks like that's what's on our menu today. It's a lovely day to walk over to Dave & Fiona's and see how their new house is coming along. Move-in date is still September. Then the dogs will be happy to take our daily hike behind our cove and see how the other house is coming along. That one is being built for a German couple, to be used as a vacation home. He's an architect so it should be at least a little interesting.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:45 AM Location Home Sweet Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
There must be close to a dozen hummingbirds at the feeders today, all fighting and flying around from one feeder to the next, around the house and over the house to the next stop. We have 7 feeders positioned strategically around the property, in the immediate vicinity of the house. The weather is chill & rainy, only 50F / 10C at the moment, and very windy. The little birdies appear indifferent to the rain, though they don't normally feed this intensively. They are fun to watch. Pretty soon most of them will disappear to brood in their nests.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:33 AM Location At the feeders | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Today we went with Michaelette to visit Berl and Art at their place in River Denys, just down the road. Their place is on the Bras d'Or, where the paved road meets the dirt road.

A few weeks ago a storm washed much seaweed onto their beach and now it is starting to decompose. We took two truckloads and dumped one on Michaelette's garden, one on our garden. Then we bought seed potatoes, laid them on the tilled garden and covered them with seaweed. We need one more load to go on the tomatoes and other heavy feeders in the garden.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:44 PM Location River Denys | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
At the meeting of the Autumn Joy Garden Club last week Iris showed us how to make our own little garden chair from small saplings and branches gathered in the woods. Kit and George kindly gathered some alder pieces for Caroline and myself of the proscribed length and width, which we constructed into a darling, little chair under the kindly and excellent guidance of Iris. It took only 3/4 of an hour to assemble them. Do you think we should open a shop? We could call it The Fine Furniture of Marble Mountain Garden Boutique.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:55 AM Location Autumn Joy Garden Club | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We got home at almost 1:00 this morning. It was the annual lobster season kickoff party, held this time at Tom & Jean's new house up Mountain Road in the Village. Charlie bought what must have amounted to nearly all of Ian's catch for the day, maybe for 2 days, and we had a feast. Of course there were the usual potato salad, cole slaw and green salad. And perhaps as many as 50 good-sized lobsters. Marble Mountain being a big wine-producing region, there was no shortage of good, home-made wine. Some 25 - 30 people were well-fed & watered and we ended up with many lobsters left over, enough for everyone to take several home for another meal later. Guess what we're having for dinner tomorrow.

It all started out as a conversation with Michaelette about getting some lobsters from Ian when the season opened. Next thing we knew, it grew into a community bash and quite an impressive group of people showed up. A few people straggled home over the course of the evening for one reason or another, but most people stayed until midnight or later. At one point Kit was up dancing a set - or several kinds of sets simultaneously! - with the "Rankin sisters" and Gordon and later Fiona led a conga line with pretty much everyone lined up behind her. You haven't lived until you've heard Gordon's story of taking a shower after being in the coal mine. I'd tell you the story but what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Despite getting to bed several hours later than usual, we got up not long after dawn and had a full day. The weather started out cool and rainy; by the afternoon the sun came out, the temperature climbed and we spent much of the day outside. I spent most of the afternoon planting the green goodies Fiona gave me yesterday (I'm half way through). Michaelette and I did find time to walk Flyn & Lily along the beach at Livingstone's, looking for fresh morels (it's too early yet). Now it's dinnertime and, to put a perfect ending on a perfect day, the water in the cove in perfectly still, the trees are standing perfectly still and the pink sky of sunset is reflected perfectly on the surface of the water. It doesn't get any more perfect than this.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:14 PM Location In the Screen Room | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I've been told that when the smelt are running they are so thick in the creeks that kids can scoop them out of the water with their hands. It's obvious that something is schooling in the cove so I went down and dropped a line the water from off the end of the dock for a half hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon hoping to get either some smelts or a cod that chases them. I had no luck and I'm getting worse at fishing, I can't even get rid of a worm now. (The worm is still hanging from the hook that's attached to my rod in the shed.) Good thing we went to the grocery store yesterday.

Lobster season started earlier this week on Monday, May 1. No sooner did the season open than the steering broke on Ian's lobster boat. This afternoon he cruised past the dock in our cove, presumably to let us know his steering is fixed and he's back in business. That's a good thing since there's going to be a lobster bash to kick off the season this weekend. With 30 people in attendance it would be a disappointment to have no lobster. The party is saved, there will be lobsters, lots of them, and they will be fabulous. Thank you, Ian!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 4:41 PM Location on the dock | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Our little, sturdy "lobster boat" is now officially in the water. The wearher was nice and sunny so we took the boat out for a spin past Clarke Island and Cameron Island. Flyn climbed up on the deck and rode most of the way perched up front with his paws draped over the side. He was thoroughly happy to be back on the boat again. When we got near our dock he jumped in and swam to shore.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 3:34 PM Location On The Water | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
As I mentioned before, this is a very home & family-oriented region. That being so, the women are all very good cooks and many of them are adventurous cooks, supermarket willing. The menfolk are adventurous eaters, which helps. A few of us have latched on to the notion of holding wine dinners in which each participant or couple brings a dish and the host makes the main course. (We need to be mindful of how many people there are per bottle of wine. We don't want to send people out onto the road loopy.)

Food & Wine has noticed that the wine dinner concept is becoming a trend so they have set up an internet Cooking Club that provides Monthly Wine Dinner menus. Currently the three menu suggestions are Piedmont Wine Dinner, North African Night and White Food Party. F&W provides the recipes and the lists online resources from where you can order hard-to-find ingredients; they also make wine pairing suggestions to go with the menus.

We plan to hold a wine dinner here, perhaps in the screen room, and take lots of pictures. Cooking dishes on the Easy-Bake Oven, as the little Jøtul has been nicknamed by Michaelette, should set our dinners apart. Then we'll submit it to Food & Wine for one of their articles or for their Club Of The Month online feature. Most of the people here have taken up winemaking at home. Pairing wines with food will be additionally interesting. We can top it off by serving locally gathered shellfish prepared with home grown herbs.

This will be fun. More on this later.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 1:51 PM Location In the kitchen | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I have good news - we can make our own maple syrup. A neighbor, Ian, pointed out that we have a sugar maple in our yard. And I have bad news. The winter has been too warm for the sap to flow properly, he said. Ian said the sap flows best when there's a cover of snow around the base of the tree. Maybe next year will be colder & snowier so we can give it a try.

Supposedly it's easy to make a tap. You slice a length of birch, hollow out the center and pound the pointy end into the tree. Hang a bucket from it to gather the sap. Boil the sap to make the syrup. How nice is that?

Maybe next year we'll be able to produce our own maple syrup. We promise to dress stylishly for it. If there's snow on the ground we can make maple ice snowcones.

This afternoon Kit laid a new path of square stepping stones down the slope in the yard making it easier yet to get to that tree. Pretty soon the seeds and plants will go in along the new path. Warm weather's a-coming.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:09 PM Location Back Yard | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
I am accepting submissions for the Black's Cove on Marble Mountain motto. Make your entries here. Winner gets an all-expenses paid trip from Black's Cove to the island paradise of Clarke Island followed by a gourmet meal of fresh-gathered Mussels Mileto, still-warm-from-the-oven herb focaccia expertly paired with home-made wine and served in the luxurious screen room overlooking the Japanese-inspired garden with meditation pond.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 1:29 PM Location Cyberspace | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Does it ever seem that everthing generates a story? It all started last month on the way home from the monthly Marble Mountain Ladies Night Out. Caroline and I decided that we'd spend March LNO, which happened to fall on the 17th, in Marble Mountain and have a bash of our own. I'm not sure how it happened but neither one of us ended up holding the bash and it somehow ended up at Tom & Jean McCann's house, neither of whom participate in MMLNO. That's ok, they seem to have fully embraced the spirit of living here in MM. (Jean, after all, was born here.) Who am I to complain about a good party? Maybe we need a good motto to represent the lifestyle here.

Joe, a party regular, made corned beef & cabbage. Even with 10 diners in attendance, there was a plethora of food. Joe filled a lobster pot to overflowing with corned beef; the veggies didn't all fit in. We should have held this at our house and put all the pots on the cookstove. Kit introduced Black & Tans to the Village People. You know, fill a glass half full with Bass, then top off with Guinness poured slowly into a spoon. Slainte!

Kit went over there no fewer than 3 times during the day, the first time bringing Irish music that didn't work on Tom's player, second time bringing Irish music that did play on Tom's player, then, third time, bringing our lobster pot over to handle the boiled dinner overflow. Fourth trip he brought me. When George showed up wearing a green cap and a shamrock on his face I knew we were all in the right frame of mind. This thing took on a life of its own, party & food both. Kit, Tom & Joe dipped into the Guinness before lunch. The party hadn't even begun yet! At least not officially. See what I mean about the stories? I'm glad Caroline thought to bring the camera, this became yet another memorable event on Marble Mountain.

The "Rankin Women" performed their always-popular song & dance show again. (And, no, they are not related to the performing family of Rankins. Well maybe so but not closely enough that they take it on the road.) It was Jean on the "dining room table keyboard", Joyce on the air guitar and Irene on the air fiddle, Caroline doing lipsync vocals. They were rockin'! Before long a square set was pulled together with Jean calling and by the second figure they were warm enough that they went out to dance on the deck by moonlight.

We arrived back home at 2:00 am.



Erin Go Bragh!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 10:29 AM Location Marble Mountain Village | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
True, the move to Cape Breton was a drastic lifestyle change but I consider it for the better, overall.

Consider this, 1. It's so peaceful and quiet here that when the occasional car drives past, I look to see who it is and more often than not I recognize it. 2. We have our own local museum. 3. Marble Mountain Village has not one but two churches and they're for different denominations. And they take turns holding services/masses. 4. There is an actual marble mine in Marble Mountain, though it has been out of action for nearly a century. 5. You can purchase marble to order from the recently opened mine on the back of Marble Mountain - in at least 5 colors and 3 finishes. 6. The community is comprised of a vibrant and active group of residents. 7. Eagles. Where else do you have bald eagles living in your backyard? Ok, ok, there is a cove at the end of my back yard (so I cheated). 8. Super-clear water fresh from our well up the mountain, gravity-fed, no pump and no electricity needed. 9. In spring we have apple orchards here that are quite lovely. Pussy Willow trees, wild bayberry shrubs, beach roses and wild morels.

That being said, 1. I do miss having a movie theater nearby for when the better movies come out. 2. It would be nice to have some ethnic food once in a while. 3. The boutique store Target. Is Wal-Mart keeping it out of Canada somehow? That would be like W-M. 4. Having to use dialup or miserably slow & unreliable satellite and dialup is a drag and a serious drag on the future of the community. 5. Cherry blossom season and the Smithsonian in the D.C. metro region. 6. Reliable and reasonably priced courier service. The postal service works better than the sole courier service in this region.

What are some of the things that really don't matter? 1. The weather. Winter is not nearly as bad here as we had expected. Being able to x-country ski, snowshoe and ice skate in the cove is a gift. Summer is good for water sports and mussels from the beach. 2. Tv service. With satellite tv we get all the same major tv stations. ABC, CBS and NBC out of Boston. CNN and PBS. CBC radio is certainly worth having. 3. Being in a neighborhood. Everyone here knows everyone else for miles. It's a cohesive community. Most people here are somehow related, though. I may be, too. Time to research genealogy.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 5:49 PM Location Black Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Well, for other people it's ice fishing season. I don't have the courage to go out on the ice when the weather is so warm. The temps do fall below freezing at night but during the day the temps go above freezing and the ice starts to puddle on the surface of the Bras d'Or. That doesn't stop a number of people from going out with an auger and dropping a line through the hole. I understand that most anything can be used for bait and that the smelts are plentiful this time of year. A couple of nights ago a neighbor dropped off 2 1/2 dozen of the little fishies, which we had with dinner. They were good. They should come with a disclaimer saying "No local residents were harmed in the harvesting of these fishies." At least not to my knowledge. Still, when I see the ice puddling on the surface and people out there fishing, I divert my gaze in case one of them goes through. It's not something I want to see, it will give me bad dreams at night. The smelts were really good. Kit's a good cook.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 6:04 PM Location On The Ice | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
That's Kit's take on how to cook Nova Scotia style. All the recipes start out the same, he claims. Actually, here on Cape Breton and most likely all over Nova Scotia, the women take great pride in their cooking skills. You'll seldom get a bad meal here and only the occasional bad dish, accompanied by much apologizing. To make my point, one of the best culinary bets is the dinner in Marble Mountain in the hall in the village during tourist season for $7.00pp. The dishes are all home-cooked by the people in the community and served buffet-style.

The people here, mostly, are adventurous in the kitchen and keep up with current trends. Too bad the supermarkets aren't keeping pace. In all fairness, the markets do provide some ethnic variety but often it's not exactly the thing I'm looking for. Last year I went to the market looking for semolina flour for my pizza dough. Unable to find it on the shelf, I asked about it at the customer service desk. The people behind the counter said "Salmon-what? Is that a kind of fish?" I explained it's flour. They asked "Is it made from corn? Can you spell it?" And they promised to order it for me but it never showed up. I guess they never read the labels on the foods they buy. Both pasta and pizza are made of this.

In the U.S. people don't cook much and they get out of it any way they can. You can always expect someone to bring a bottle of soda, a bag of chips with a tub of dip or a box of donuts to a potluck. There are a few people willing and able and usually the host prepares the main dish and the guests bring the appetizer, sides and dessert so there's not so much work for any one person. When people invite you to dinner here, they make the entire meal. The concept of potluck or bringing a dish is almost an insult. It's a competely different way of life here that centers around the kitchen and the family, much more social, relaxed and family-oriented. It's old-fashioned and very much the way I grew up and Kit is starting to get used to it.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:08 AM Location Nova Scotia | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We've had a pretty good winter, both weather and heath-wise. Until now. I can feel a sinus infection developing and I don't want to go on antibiotics if I can help it. I'm going to wait until the warmest part of the day and go for 1 - 2 mile walk in the fresh air, see if that helps make it go away. Other approach is hot & spice food. There's no place to get it here unless I make it myself. Perhaps my sweetie-pie will make it for me, on the Jotul cookstove in the screen room. That way I can be miserable with a lovely view of the cove.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 11:05 AM Location sitting at home, miserable | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Now that we're only 3 weeks from the official start of spring, the weather is finally acting wintry. We woke up to temperatures in the mid-teens F / -26 C. That's cold enough for the cove to freeze over and any snow that falls will remain on the ground. No snow is forecast in the immediate future so it looks like ice skating is back in season - finally. The cove has a layer of snow on it. There must be some way of clearing the snow off to create a smooth skating surface. Natural ice tends to have little lumps, bumps and ridges that catch the toe of the skate blade, sending skaters down hard to the surface. Maybe this will be a good time to do ice surface research. Method 1: sweep the snow off with a broom; Method 2: lay down a fresh layer of water to melt the snow and leave a smooth surface. That's AFTER the test to determine the thickness of the ice. First things first, you know. I am really looking forward to trying the pairs ice dancing moves we saw in the Olympics over the last week or so. It's Dancing With The Stars on ice! But which one of us is the star?

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:30 AM Location Black's Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Today is the third Friday of the month, that's Ladies Night Out in Marble Mountain. The deal is that the women all get together to swap stories and have a good time together, which we do. This time we went to the restaurant in the Port Hawkesbury Hotel, the one across from the MacPuffin motel. We won't go there again, the food wasn't all that good and it closes at 7:00. The group was to gather there at 6:00, which we did. We ate, told stories, stopped for an item or two in the grocery store, had dessert and were back home by 8:00. And a wild time was had by all. I tried to talk them into stopping in the bar since the restaurant isn't licensed and I really didn't want to arrive back home that early but nobody wanted to bar hop. Still, we had a very good time. Next month the third Friday will fall on St Patrick's Day and we're shopping for a restaurant that will entertain us as well as feed us. Maybe a potluck is in order for March. We shall see.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:52 PM Location restaurant | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
It's mid-February and it's almost warm outside. Actually, the house is too warm inside for comfort. This is an excellent day to spend outside. The outdoor thermometer says 56 F but it feels warmer than that, probably due to the bright sunshine. The weather is broken. We should be out skiing and ice skating, not walking through the vegetable garden planning this summer's crop. Inside the unheated screen room the temp is in the mid-60's; any warmer than that will be too warm. Something is up with the weather and it may not be good.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 1:26 PM Location Black Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
We have gotten hardly any snow so the skis, snowshoes and skates have sitten idle. The cove is frozen - just barely. The temps usually go below freezing at night but warm up in the daylight. Kit heard that some people were ice fishing (ice fishing in this mild weather!) down the road at Crowdiss Bridge. Now how can that ice on the cove be hard enough to be safe when the temps don't stay below freezing? It doesn't take much to make the cove freeze over. Anyway, after hearing about the ice fishers Kit decided that he'd go down to the cove and test the ice. I asked him how he thought it would be strong enough to hold him up when it isn't even frozen to the shoreline. He said not to worry, he'd take the drill down and go out to the end of the dock. Well, he came back wet. First he took the rechargeable electric drill and his largest bore and tried that. It went through the soft, mushy ice way too easily but it measured a couple of inches of thickness so he decided to step out on it. One foot held so he put the other foot out on it and in he went. He managed to catch himself and landed on his butt on the dock - on a cleat. He'll have a purple butt today, for sure. Kit's good for generating stories. You notice I stayed in the house through all this. It doesn't take a mensa to figure out that the ice isn't strong.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 8:56 AM Location In The Drink | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Just for fun, go to this site and put in your picture and pix of your family. http://www.myheritage.com. Mine came back as primarily resembling Enya, Colin Farrell, David Bowie and Shannon Doherty. I haven't thought of myself as looking Irish but I'll have to rethink that perception. Kit's came back as resembling a number of unfamiliar faces and the last pic we did recognize - Alan Greenspan, of all people. Have fun with it!

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:19 PM Location Home Sweet Home | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: Life on Marble Mountain
Here on Cape Breton there is often a fine mist in the air. It is, after all, an island in the ocean. This mist occurs regardless of weather, even on bright, sunny days. In the winter the infinitesimal droplets of moisture freeze, add in some sun and the air sparkles. It's pretty - very, very pretty. It's like living in a snoglobe. What a lovely surprise it was to discover this in the winter! I wish I could take a picture of it to show you.

Posted by Maggie Davis At 7:15 AM Location Black Cove | Permalink | Comments (0)